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Aw-aw-tam 
Indian 
Nights 


by 


J.  William  Lloyd 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


ERRATA 

in  this  book  of  Pima  legends,  various  errors  with  regard  to  Indian  words  have 
occurred  which  will  be  corrected  in  a  second  edition.  These  are  principally  as  follows: 

The  rule  was  made  that  all  Indian  words  should  be  printed  the  firs!  time  in  italics, 
with  hyphens  to  facilitate  pronunciation;  afterwards  in  roman  type,  without  hyphens. 
This  rule  has  many  times  been  violated. 

There  is  a  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  spelling,  etc.,  of  many  of  the  Indian  terms. 
Thus  the  name  of  the  old  seeneeyawkum  has  been  spelled  in  different  ways,  but  should 
always  be  Comalk  Hawkkih.  The  name  of  the  Creator  should  always  be  Juwerta 
Mahkai.  The  name  of  his  subordinate  should  be  Eeheetoy.  Gee-ee-sop  should  be 
Geeheesop.  Cheof  should  be  Cheoff.  Vah-kee-woldt-kee,  as  on  page  8,  should  be 
Vahf-kee-woldt-kih  as  on  page  1  12.  Sah-kote-kee,  on  page  183,  should  be  Sah-kote-kih, 
and  Chirt-kee  should  be  Chirt-kih.  On  page  224,  vahs-shroms  should  be  vahs-hroms. 
Tcheuassat  Seeven  (page  237)  should  be  Tcheunassat  Seeven.  Stchenadack  Seeven 
(page  238)  should  be  Stcheuadack  Seeven.  Scheunassat  Seeven,  on  page  239,  should 
be  Tcheunassat  Seeven.  In  the  story  of  the  Turquoises  and  the  Red  Bird  (page  99) 
the  name  of  the  chief  who  lived  in  the  Casa  Grande  ruins  should  have  been  spelled 
with  a  u,  instead  of  a  w,  to  secure  uniformity;  also  the  Indian  name  of  the  turquoises. 
The  name  of  the  Salt  River  Mountain,  wherever  it  occurs,  should  always  be 
Moehahdheck. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


ERRATA 

In  this  book  of  Pima  legends,  various  errors  with  regard  to  Indian  words  have 
occurred  which  will  be  corrected  in  a  second  edition.  These  are  principally  as  follows: 

The  rule  was  made  that  all  Indian  words  should  be  printed  the  firrfl  time  in  italics, 
with  hyphens  to  facilitate  pronunciation;  afterwards  in  roman  type,  without  hyphens. 
This  rule  has  many  times  been  violated. 

There  is  a  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  spelling,  etc.,  of  many  of  the  Indian  terms. 
Thus  the  name  of  the  old  seeneeyawkum  has  been  spelled  in  different  ways,  but  should 
always  be  Comalk  Hawkkih.  The  name  of  the  Creator  should  always  be  Juwerta 
Mahkai.  The  name  of  his  subordinate  should  be  Eeheetoy.  Gee-ee-sop  should  be 
Geeheesop.  Cheof  should  be  Cheoff .  Vah-kee-woldt-kee,  as  on  page  8,  should  be 
Vahf-kee-woldt-kih  as  on  page  112.  Sah-kote-kee,  on  page  1 83,  should  be  Sah-kote-kih, 
and  Chirt-kee  should  be  Chirt-kih.  On  page  224,  vahs-shroms  should  be  vahs-hroms. 
Tcheuassat  Seeven  (page  237)  should  be  Tcheunassat  Seeven.  Stchenadack  Seeven 
(page  238)  should  be  Stcheuadack  Seeven.  Scheunassat  Seeven,  on  page  239,  should 
be  Tcheunassat  Seeven.  In  the  story  of  the  Turquoises  and  the  Red  Bird  (page  99) 
the  name  of  the  chief  who  lived  in  the  Casa  Grande  ruins  should  have  been  spelled 
with  a  u,  instead  of  a  w,  to  secure  uniformity;  also  the  Indian  name  of  the  turquoises. 
The  name  of  the  Salt  River  Mountain,  wherever  it  occurs,  should  always  be 
Moehahdheck. 


AW-AW-TAM 
INDIAN   NIGHTS 

BEING 

THE  MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS  OF  THE  PIMAS 
OF  ARIZONA 

AS  RECEIVED  BY 

J.  WILLIAM  LLOYD 

FROM  COMALK-HAWK-KIH  (THIN  BUCKSKIN) 

THRU  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF 

EDWARD  HUBERT  WOOD 


PRICE  $1.5O  POSTPAID 
THE  LLOYD  GROUP,  WESTFIELD,  N.  J. 


Copyright,  1911,  by  John  William  Lloyd 


January  20th,  1904. 
This  is  to  certify  that  the  myths  and 
legends  ot  the  Pimas  derived  by  J.  Wil 
liam  Lloyd  from  my  granduncle,  Thin 
Buckskin,  thru  my  interpretation,  are 
correct  and  genuine  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  to  interpret  them. 

Edward  H.  Wood, 

Sacaton,  Arizona.  (Pima  Indian) 


224471 


COMALK-HAWKIH  (THIN  BUCKSKIN) 
The  old  Seeneeyawkum 


THE  STORY  OF  THESE  STORIES 


I  was  at  the  Pan-American  Fair, 
at  Buffalo,  m  July*  19°1  >  I  one  day 
strolled  into  the  Bazaar  and  drifted 
naturally  to  the  section  where  Indian 
curios  were  displayed  for  sale  by  J. 
W.  Benham.  Behind  the  counter,  as  salesman, 
stood  a  young  Indian,  whose  frank,  intelligent, 
good-natured  face  at  once  attracted  me.  Finding 
me  interested  in  Indian  art,  he  courteously  in 
vited  me  behind  the  counter  and  spent  an  hour 
or  more  in  explaining  the  mysteries  of  baskets 
and  blankets. 

How  small  seeds  are !  From  that  interview 
came  everything  that  is  in  this  book. 

Several  times  I  repeated  my  visits  to  my  In 
dian  friend,  and  when  I  had  left  Buffalo  I  had 
learned  that  his  name  was  Edward  Hubert  Wood, 
and  that  he  was  a  full-blooded  Pima,  educated 
at  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico. 

Afterward  we  came  into  a  pleasant  corres 
pondence,  and  so  I  came  to  know  that  one  of 
my  Indian  friend's  dreams  was  that  he  should 
be  the  means  of  the  preservation  of  the  ancient 
tales  of  his  people.  He  had  a  grand-uncle, 
Comalk-Hawk-Kih,  or  Thin  Buckskin,  who  was 
a  see-nee-yaw-kum,  or  professional  traditional 
ist,  who  knew  all  the  ancient  stones,  but  who 
had  no  successor,  and  with  whose  death  the 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


stories  would  disappear.  He  did  not  feel  him 
self  equal  to  putting  these  traditions  into  good 
English,  and  so  did  not  quite  know  what  to  do. 

We  discussed  this  matter  in  letters ;  and  finally 
it  was  decided  that  I  should  visit  the  Gila  River 
Reservation,  in  Arizona,  where  the  Pimas  were, 
and  get  the  myths  from  the  old  seeneeyawkum 
in  person,  and  that  Mr.  Wood  should  return  home 
from  Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada,  where  he  was 
teaching  carpentry  to  the  Pai-utes,  and  be  my 
host  and  interpreter. 

So,  on  the  morning  of  July  31st,  1903,  I  step 
ped  from  a  train  at  Casa  Grande,  Arizona,  and 
found  myself  in  the  desert  land  of  which  I  had 
so  long  dreamed.  I  had  expected  Mr.  Wood  to 
meet  me  there,  but  he  was  not  at  the  station  and 
therefore  I  took  passage  with  the  Irish  mail- 
carrier  whose  stage  was  in  daily  transit  between 
Casa  Grande  and  Sacaton,  the  Agency  village  of 
the  Pima  Reservation. 

We  had  driven  perhaps  half  the  distance,  and 
my  Irish  friend  was  beguiling  the  tedium  by  an 
interminable  series  of  highly  spiced  yarns,  cal 
culated  to  flabbergast  the  tenderfoot,  when  my 
anxious  eyes  discerned  in  the  distance  the  on 
coming  of  a  neat  little  open  buggy,  drawn  by  two 
pretty  ponies,  one  of  which  was  a  pinto,  and  in 
which  sat  Mr.  Wood.  Just  imagine:  It  was  the 
last  day  of  July,  a  blazing  morning  in  the  open 
desert,  with  the  temperature  soaring  somewhere 
between  100  and  120  degrees,  yet  here  was  my 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas       3 

Indian  friend,  doubtless  to  do  me  honor,  arrayed 
in  a  "pepper-and-salt"  suit,  complete  with  under 
clothes  ;  vest  buttoned  up;  collar  and  necktie, 
goggles  and  buckskin  driving  gloves.  And  this 
in  an  open  buggy,  while  the  Irishman  and  I,  un 
der  our  tilt,  were  stripped  to  our  shirts,  with 
sleeves  rolled  above  elbows,  and  swigging  water, 
ever  and  anon,  from  an  enormous  canteen  swathed 
in  wet  flannel  to  keep  it  cool.  Truly  Mr.  Wood 
had  not  intended  that  I  should  take  him  for  an 
uncivilized  Indian,  if  clothes  could  give  the  lie ; 
but  the  face  was  the  same  kindly  one  of  my 
"Brother  Ed,"  and  it  did  not  take  me  long  to 
greet  him  and  transfer  myself  to  his  care. 

We  came  to  Sacaton  (which  Ed  said  was  a 
Mexican  name  meaning  "much  tall  grass  "- 
reminding  me  that  Emory,  of  the  "Army  of  the 
West,"  who  found  the  Pimas  in  1846,  reported 
finding  fine  meadows  there — but  which  the  Pimas 
call  Tawt-sit-ka,  "the  Place  of  Fear  and  Flight," 
because  of  some  Apache-caused  panic)  but  we 
did  not  stop  there,  but  passed  around  it,  to  the 
Northwest,  and  on  and  over  the  Gila,  Akee-mull, 
The  River,  as  the  Pimas  affectionately  call  it, 
for  to  them  it  is  as  the  Nile  to  Egypt.  The  famous 
Gila  is  not  a  very  imposing  stream  at  any  time, 
and  now  was  no  stream  at  all.  but  a  shallow  dry 
channel,  choked  with  desert  dust,  or  paved  with 
curling  flakes  of  baked  mud  which  cracked  like 
bits  of  broken  pottery  under  our  ponies'  feet. 
But  I  afterwards  many  times  saw  it  a  turbid 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


torrent  of  yellow  mud,  rushing  and  foaming  from 
the  mountain  rains;  perilous  with  quicksand  and 
snag,  the  roaring  of  its  voice  heard  over  the 
chapparal  for  miles  to  windward. 

The  Pimas  live  in  villages,  each  with  its  sub- 
chief,  and  we  were  bound  for  the  village  of 
Lower  San-tan.  But  in  these  villages  the  houses 
are  now  seldom  aggregated,  as  in  old  days  of 
Apache  and  Yuma  war,  but  scatter  out  for  miles 
in  farm  homesteads. 

Brother  Ed  had  lately  sold  his  neat  farmstead, 
near  Sacaton,  and  when  I  came  to  his  home  I 
found  he  was  temporarily  living  under  a  vach- 
toe  (pronounce  first  syllable  as  if  German),  or 
arbor-shed,  made  of  mezquite  forks,  supporting 
a  flat  roof  of  weeds  and  brush  for  shade.  Near 
by  he  was  laying  the  foundations  of  a  neat  little 
adobe  cottage,  which  was  finally  completed  dur 
ing  my  stay. 

Ed  introduced  me  to  his  mother,  a  matronly 
Indian  woman  of  perhaps  fifty-five,  who  must 
have  been  quite  a  belle  in  her  day,  and  whose 
features  were  still  regular  and  strong,  and  his 
step-father,  "Mr.  Wells,"  who  deserves  more 
than  a  passing  word  from  me,  for  his  kindness 
was  unremitting  (bless  his  good-natured,  smiling 
face!)  and  his  solicitude  for  my  comfort  constant. 
These  were  all  the  family,  for  Ed  himself  was  a 
widower.  Fifty  yards  or  so  to  the  northwest 
were  the  huts  of  two  old  and  wretchedly  poor 
Pimas  (the  man  was  blind)  who  had  been  allowed 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas       5 

to  settle  there  temporarily  by  Mr.  Wood,  owing 
to  some  difficulty  about  their  own  location  on 
their  adjoining  land.  One  or  two  hundred  yards 
in  the  other  direction  were  two  old  caw-seens> 
or  storehouses,  square  structures  of  a  sort  of 
wattlework  of  poles,  weeds  and  brush,  plastered 
over  with  adobe  and  roofed  with  earth.  In  one  of 
these  I  placed  my  trunk,  and  on  its  flat  roof 
I  slept,  rolled  in  my  blankets,  most  of  the  nights 
of  the  two  months  of  my  stay.  I  came  to  know 
it  as  "my  Arizona  Bedstead/1  and  I  shall  never 
forget  it  and  its  quaint,  crooked  ladder. 

My  Indian  brother  was  not  slow  in  shedding 
his  dress-parade  garments,  and  in  getting  down 
to  the  comfort  of  outing  shirt  and  overalls,  neck 
handkerchief  and  sombrero.  Then  I  had  my  first 
meal  v/ith  Indians  in  Arizona.  Mrs.  Wells,  or 
as  I  prefer  to  call  her,  Sparkling-Soft-Feather 
(her  Indian  name)  was  a  good  cook  of  her  kind, 
and  gave  us  a  meal  of  tortillas^  frijole  beans, 
peppers  (kaw-awl-kull),  coffee,  and  choo-oo- 
kook  or  jerked  beef.  Ed  and  I  were  given  the 
dignity  of  chairs  and  a  table,  but  the  older  In 
dians  squatted  on  the  ground  in  the  good  old 
Pima  way,  with  their  dishes  on  a  mat.  There 
were  knives  and  spoons,  but  no  forks,  and  the 
usefulness  of  fingers  was  not  obsolete.  A  wag 
gish,  pale-eyed  pup,  flabbily  deprecative  and  good- 
natured,  and  a  big-footed  Mexican  choo-chool, 
or  chicken,  were  obtrusively  familiar.  Neither 
of  the  older  Indians  could  speak  a  word  of  Eng- 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


lish,  but  chatted  and  laughed  away  together  in 
Pima.  The  hot,  soft  wind  of  the  desert  kissed 
our  faces  as  we  ate,  and  off  in  the  back  ground 
rose  the  stately  volcanic  pile  of  Cheoff-skaw-mack, 
the  nearest  mountain,  and  all  around  the  horizon 
other  bare  voldanic  peaks  burned  into  the  blue. 
Sometimes  a  whirlwind  of  dust  travelled  rapidly 
over  the  plain,  making  one  ponder  what  would 
happen  should  it  gygrate  into  the  vachtoe. 

The  old  woman  from  the  near-by  kee  slunk  by 
as  we  ate,  going  to  the  well.  She  wore  gah-kai- 
gey-aht-kum-soosk  (literally  string-shoes),  or  san 
dals,  of  rawhide,  on  her  feet,  and  was  quite  the 
most  wretched-looking  hag  I  ever  saw  among  the 
Pimas.  Her  withered  body  was  hung  with  in 
describable  rags  and  her  gray  hair  was  a  tangled 
mat.  Yet  I  came  to  know  that  that  wretched 
creature  had  a  heart  and  a  good  one.  She  was 
kind  and  cheerful,  industrious  and  uncomplain 
ing,  and  devotion  itself  to  her  old  blind  husband; 
who  did  nothing  all  day  long  but  move  out  of 
the  travelling  sun  into  the  shade,  rolling  nearly 
naked  in  the  dust. 

After  dinner  we  got  our  guns  and  started  out 
to  go  to  the  farm  of  old  Thin  Buckskin  ("Wil 
liam  Higgins,"  if  you  please!)  the  seeneeyaw- 
kum  I  had  come  so  far  to  see.  Incidentally  we 
were  to  shoot  some  kah-kai-cheu,  or  plumed 
quails,  and  taiv-up-pee,  or  rabbits,  for  supper. 

We  found  the  old  man  plowing  for  corn  in  his 
field.  The  strong,  friendly  grasp  he  gave  my 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas       7 

hand  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  Tall,  lean, 
dignified,  with  a  harsh,  yet  musical  voice;  keen, 
intelligent  black  eyes,  and  an  impressive  manner, 
he  was  plainly  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  even 
if  he  could  neither  read  nor  write,  nor  speak  a 
sentence  of  English. 

The  next  afternoon  he  came,  and  under  Ed's 
vachtoe  gave  me  the  first  installment  of  the 
coveted  tales.  It  was  slow  work.  First  he  would 
tell  Ed  a  paragraph  of  tradition,  and  Ed  would 
translate  it  to  me.  Then  I  would  write  it  down, 
and  then  read  it  aloud  to  Ed  again,  getting  his 
corrections.  When  all  was  straight,  to  his  satis 
faction,  we  would  go  on  to  another  paragraph, 
and  so  on,  till  the  old  man  said  enough.  As 
these  Indians  are  all  Christianized  now,  and 
mostly  zealous  in  the  faith,  I  could  get  no  tra 
ditions  on  Sunday.  And  indeed,  when  part  way 
thru,  this  zeal  came  near  balking  me  altogether. 
A  movement  started  to  stop  the  recovery  of  these 
old  heathen  tales;  the  sub-chief  had  a  word  with 
Comalk,  who  became  suddenly  too  busy  to  go 
on  with  his  narrations,  and  it  took  increased 
shekels  and  the  interposition  of  the  Agent,  Mr. 
J.  B.  Alexander,  who  was  very  kind  to  me,  be 
fore  I  could  get  the  wheels  started  again. 
Sometimes  the  old  man  came  at  night,  instead  of 
afternoon,  and  I  find  this  entry  in  my  journal: 
"Sept.  6. — We  sat  up  till  midnight  in  the  old  caw- 
seen  getting  the  traditions.  It  was  a  wild,  strange 
scene  —  the  old  cawseen  interior,  the  mezquite 


8  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

forks  that  supported  the  roof,  the  poles  overhead, 
and  weeds  above  that,  the  mud-plastered  walls 
with  loop-hole  windows;  bags,  boxes^  trunks, 
ollas,  and  vahs-hrom  granery  baskets  about. 
Ed  sitting  on  the  ground,  against  the  wall,  nod 
ding  when  I  wrote  and  waking  up  to  interpret; 
the  old  man  bent  forward,  both  hands  out,  palms 
upward,  or  waving  in  strange  eloquent  gestures; 
his  lean,  wrinkled  features  drawn  and  black  eyes 
gleaming;  telling  the  strange  tales  in  a  strange 
tongue.  On  an  old  olla  another  Indian,  Miguel, 
who  came  in  to  listen,  and  in  his  hand  a  gor 
geously  decorated  quee-a-kote,  or  flute,  with 
which,  while  I  wrote,  he  would  sometimes  give 
us  a  few  wild,  plaintive,  thrilling  bars,  weird  as 
an  incantation.  And  finally  myself,  sitting  on  a 
mattress  on  my  trunk,  writing,  fast  as  pencil 
could  travel,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern  hung 
against  a  great  post  at  my  right.  Outside  a  cold, 
strong  wind,  for  the  first  time  since  I  came  to 
Arizona,  bright  moonlight,  and  some  drifting 
white  clouds  telling  the  last  of  the  storm." 

Again,  on  Sept.  12th:  "Traditions,  afternoon 
and  until  midnight.  I  shall  never  forget  how  the 
half-moon  looked,  rising  over  Vah-kee-woldt-kee, 
or  the  Notched  Cliffs,  toward  midnight,  while  the 
coyotes  laughed  a  chorus  somewhere  off  toward 
the  Gila,  and  we  sat  around,  outdoors,  in  the 
wind,  and  heard  the  old  seeneeyawkum  tell 
his  weird,  incoherent  tales  of  the  long  ago." 

My  interpreter  was  eager  and  willing,  and  well- 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     9 

posted  in  the  meaning  of  English,  and  was  a 
man  of  unusual  intelligence  and  poetry  of  feeling, 
but  was  not  well  up  in  grammar,  and  in  the 
main  I  had  to  edit  and  recast  his  sentences;  yet 
just  as  far  as  possible  I  have  kept  his  words 
and  the  Indian  idiom  and  simplicity  of  style. 
Sometimes  he  would  give  me  a  sentence  so  force 
ful  and  poetic,  and  otherwise  faultless,  that  I 
have  joyfully  written  it  down  exactly  as  received. 
I  admit  that  in  a  very  few  places,  where  the 
Indian  simplicity  and  innocence  of  thought  caused 
an  almost  Biblical  plainness  of  speech  on  family 
matters,  I  have  expurgated  and  smoothed  a  little 
for  prudish  Caucasian  ears,  but  these  changes 
are  few,  and  mostly  unimportant,  leaving  the 
meaning  unimpaired.  And  never  once  was  there 
anything  in  the  spirit  of  what  was  told  me  that 
revealed  foulness  of  thought.  All  was  grave  and 
serious,  as  befitted  the  scriptures  of  an  ancient 
peopie. 

Occasionally  I  have  added  a  word  or  sentence 
to  make  the  meaning  stand  out  clearer,  but  other 
wise  I  have  taken  no  liberties  with  the  original. 

As  a  rule  the  seeneeyawkum  told  these  tales 
in  his  own  words,  but  the  parts  called  speeches 
were  learned  by  heart  and  repeated  literally. 
These  parts  gave  us  much  trouble.  They  were 
highly  poetic,  and  manifestly  mystic,  and  there 
fore  very  difficult  to  translate  with  truthfulness 
to  the  involved  meanings  and  startling  and  ob 
scure  metaphors.  Besides  they  contained  many 


10  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

archaic  words,  the  meaning  of  which  neither  see- 
neeyawkum  nor  interpreter  now  knew,  and 
which  they  could  only  translate  by  guess,  or 
leave  out  altogether.  But  we  did  the  best  we 
could. 

The  stories  were  also  embellished  with  songs, 
some  cf  which  I  had  translated.  They  were 
chants  of  from  one  to  four  lines  each,  seldom  more 
than  two,  many  times  repeated  in  varying  ca 
dence;  weird,  somber,  thrillingly  passionate  in 
places,  and  by  no  means  unmusical,  but,  of 
course,  monotonous.  I  obtained  phonograph 
records  of  a  number,  and  the  translations  given 
are  as  literal  as  possible. 

As  to  the  meaning  of  the  tales  I  got  small  sat 
isfaction.  The  Indians  seemed  to  have  no  ex 
planations  to  offer.  They  seemed  to  regard  them 
as  fairy  tales,  but  admitted  they  had  once  been 
believed  as  scriptures. 

My  own  theory  came  to  be  that  they  had  been 
invented,  from  time  to  time,  by  various  and  suc 
cessive  mah-kais  to  answer  the  questions  concern 
ing  history,  phenomena,  and  the  origin  of  things, 
which  they,  as  the  reputed  wisest  of  the  tribe, 
were  continually  asked.  My  chief  reason  for 
supposing  this  is  because  in  almost  every  tale 
the  hero  is  a  mahkai  of  some  sort.  The  word 
mah-kai  (now  translated  doctor,  or  medicine-man) 
seems  to  have  been  applied  in  old  time  to  every 
being  capable  of  exerting  magical  or  supernatural 
and  mysterious  power,  from  the  Creator  down; 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    11 

and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  such  use  of  the  word 
would  apparently  establish  the  divine  relation 
ship  and  bolster  the  authority  of  the  medicine 
men,  while  the  charm  of  the  tale  would  focus 
attention  upon  them.  The  temptation  was  great 
and,  I  think,  yielded  to. 

I  doubt  if  much  real  history  is  worked  in,  or 
that  it  is  at  all  reliable. 

All  over  the  desert,  where  irrigation  was  at  all 
practicable,  in  the  Gila  and  Salt  River  valleys, 
and  up  to  the  edge  of  the  mountains,  among  the 
beautiful  giant  cactus  and  flatbean  trees,  you  will 
ride  your  bronco  over  evidences  of  a  prehistoric 
race; — old  irrigating  ditches,  lines  of  stone  wall; 
or  low  mounds  of  adobe  rising  above  the  grease 
wood  and  cacti,  and  littered  over  profusely  with 
bits  of  broken  and  painted  pottery,  broken  corn- 
mills  and  grinders,  perhaps  showing  here  and 
there  a  stone  ax,  arrowhead,  or  other  old  stone 
implement.  These  mounds  (vah-ahk-kee  is  the 
Pima  word  for  such  a  ruin)  are  the  heaps  caused 
by  the  fallen  walls  of  what  were  once  pueblos  of 
stone  and  clay.  In  some  places  there  must  have 
been  populous  cities,  and  at  the  famous  site  of 
Casa  Grande  one  finds  one  of  the  buildings  still 
standing — a  really  imposing  citadel,  with  walls 
four  or  five  feet  thick,  several  stories  high,  and 
habitable  since  the  historic  period. 

Now  according  to  these  traditions  it  was  the 
tribes  now  known  as  Pimas,  Papagoes,  Yumas 
and  Maricopas,  that  invaded  the  land,  from  some 


12  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

mythic  underworld,  and  overthrew  the  vahahk- 
kees  &  killed  all  their  inhabitants,  and  this  is  the 
most  interesting  part  of  the  tales  from  a  historic 
point  of  view.  Fewkes,  and  other  ethnologists, 
think  the  ancestors  of  the  Pimas  built  the  Casa 
Grande  &  other  vahahkkees,  but  I  doubt  this. 
Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  a  people 
as  intelligent  &  settled  as  the  Pimas  had  once 
evoluted  far  enough  in  architecture  &  fortifica 
tion  to  erect  such  noble  citadels  and  extensive 
cities  as  those  of  Casa  Grande  &  Casa  Blanca, 
thai  they,  while  still  surrounded  by  the  harassing 
Apaches,  would  have'  descended  to  contentment 
with  such  miserable  £  indefensible  hovels  as  their 
present  kees  and  cawseens?  To  me  it  is  not. 
They  are  as  industrious  as  any  of  the  pueblo- 
building  Indians,  not  otherwise  degenerate,  and 
had  they  once  ever  builded  pueblos  I  do  not 
think  would  have  abandoned  the  art.  But  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  a  horde  of  desert  cam 
pers,  overthrowing  a  more  civilized  nation,  might 
never  rebuild  or  copy  after  its  edifices.  So  far, 
then,  I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  the  traditions 
and  disagree  with  the  ethnologists. 

But  these  traditions  are  evidently  very  ancient. 
They  appear  to  me  to  have  originated  from  the 
aborigines  of  this  country;  people  who  knew  no 
other  land.  Every  story  is  saturated  with  local 
color.  From  the  top  of  Cheoffskawmack,  I  be 
lieve  I  could  have  seen  almost  every  place  men 
tioned  in  the  traditions,  except  the  Rio  Colorado 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      13 

&  the  ocean,  and  the  ocean  was  to  them,  I  be 
lieve,  little  more  than  a  name.  They  never  speak 
of  it  with  their  usual  sketchy  £  graphic  detail, 
and  the  fact  that  in  the  ceremony  of  purification 
it  is  spoken  of  as  a  source  of  drinking  water 
shows  they  really  knew  nothing  of  it.  The  In 
dian  is  too  exact  in  his  natural  science  to  speak 
of  salt  water  as  potable.  And  these  stories  cer 
tainly  say  that  the  dwellers  in  the  vahahkkees 
were  the  children  of  Ee-ee-toy,  created  right  here. 
And  that  the  army  that  carried  out  Ee-ee-toy's 
revenge  upon  his  rebellious  people  were  the 
children  of  Juhwerta  Mahkai,  who  had  been 
somewhere  else  since  the  flood,  but  who  were 
also  originally  created  here. 

Now,  for  what  it  is  worth,  I  will  give  a  theory 
to  reconcile  these  differences.  I  assume  that 
their  flood  was  a  real  event,  but  a  local  one, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  people  destroyed  by 
it.  A  minority  escaped  by  flight  into  the  desert, 
and  neither  they  nor  their  descendants,  for  many 
generations,  returned  to  the  place  where  the  ca 
tastrophe  occurred.  Another  remnant  escaped 
by  floating  on  various  objects  &  climbing  moun 
tains.  The  first  were  those  of  whom  it  is  fabled 
that  Juhwerta  Mahkai  let  them  escape  thru  a 
hole  in  the  earth.  These  became  nomadic,  des 
ert  dwellers.  The  second  remained  in  the  Gila 
country,  became  agricultural  &  settled  in  habit, 
irrigating  their  land  &  building  pueblos,  growing 
rich,  effeminate  &  inapt  at  war.  At  length  the 


14  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

desert  fugitives,  also  grown  numerous,  and  war 
like  &  fierce  with  the  wild,  wolf-like  existence 
they  had  led,  and  moved  by  we  know  not^what 
motives  of  revenge  or  greed,  returned  &  swept 
over  the  land,  in  a  sudden  invasion,  like  a  swarm 
of  locusts;  ruthlesaly  destroying  the  vahahkees 
and  all  who  dwelt  therein;  breaking  even  the 
ma-ta-tes  &  every  utensil  in  their  vandal  fury; 
dividing  the  region  thus  taken  among  themselves. 
According  to  these  traditions  the  Apaches  were 
already  dwellers  in  the  outlying  deserts  &  moun 
tains,  and  were  not  affected  especially  by  this 
invasion. 

Is  it  now  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  some 
of  the  invaders  kept  up,  to  a  great  extent,  their 
old  habits  of  desert  wandering  (Papagoes  for  in 
stance),  and  that  others  adopted  to  some  extent 
the  agricultural  habits  of  those  they  had  con 
quered,  and  yet  retained,  with  slight  change,  the 
little  brush  &  mud  houses  &  arbors  they  had 
grown  accustomed  to  in  their  wanderings?  These 
last  would  be  our  present  Pimas. 

If  it  is  considered  strange  that  these  adopted 
the  habits,  to  any  extent,  of  those  they  sup 
planted  it  may  be  urged  that  they  almost  certainly, 
in  conquering  the  vahahkkee  people,  spared 
and  married  many  of  the  women,  and  adopted 
many  of  the  children;  this  being  in  accordance 
with  their  custom  in  historic  times.  And  this 
infusion  of  the  gentler  blood  may  have  been  very 
large.  And  these  women  would  naturally  go  on, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      15 

and  would  be  required  by  their  new  husbands  to 
go  on,  with  the  agricultural  methods  to  which 
they  were  accustomed  &  wou4d  teach  them  to 
their  new  masters.  And  their  children,  being 
wholly  or  partly  of  the  old  stock,  would  have  a 
natural  tendency  to  the  same  work,  to  some 
extent. 

This  theory  not  only  explains  &  agrees  with 
the  main  parts  of  the  old  traditions,  but  seems 
confirmed  by  other  things.  Thus  the  Pimas, 
Papagoes,  Quojatas,  and  the  "  Rabbit-Eaters " 
of  Mexico,  speak  about  the  same  language,  which 
would  seem  to  prove  them  originally  the  same 
people.  But  some  have  kept  the  old  ways,  some 
have  become  agricultural,  and  some  are  in  man 
ners  between,  and  thus  have  become  classed  as 
different  tribes.  And,  judging  from  the  remains, 
the  life  of  the  old  vahahkkee  dwellers  was  in 
many  ways  like  that  of  the  modern  Pima,  only 
less  primitive. 

But  the  real  value  of  these  stories  is  as  folk 
lore,  and  in  their  literary  merit.  They  throw  a 
wonderful  side-light  on  the  old  customs,  beliefs 
and  feelings.  I  consider  them  ancient,  in  the 
main,  but  do  not  doubt  that  in  coming  down  thru 
many  seeneeyawkums  they  have  been  much 
modified  by  the  addition  of  embellishment,  the 
subtraction  of  forgetfulness.  As  proof  I  adduce 
the  accounting  for  the  origin  of  the  white  people, 
who  use  pens  &  ink,  in  the  story  of  Van-daih. 
The  ancient  Pimas  knew  neither  white  men,  nor 


16  Aw~aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

pens,  nor  ink,  therefore  this  passage  is  clearly  an 
interpolation  by  some  later  narrator,  if  the  story 
is  really  ancient,  as  I  suppose  it  is.  In  the  story 
of  Noo-ee's  meeting  the  sun,  the  word  used  by 
old  Comalk,  for  the  sun's  weapon,  was  vai-no- 
ma-gaht  (literally  iron-bow)  which  is  the  modern 
Pima's  name  for  the  white  man's  gun,  and  it  was 
translated  as  gun  by  my  interpreter.  But  iron 
and  guns  were  both  unknown  to  ancient  Pimas, 
therefore  this  term  must  have  been  first  used  by 
some  seeneeyawkum  after  the  white  man  came, 
who  thought  a  gun  more  appropriate  than  a  bow 
for  the  sun's  shooting. 

How  much  has  been  lost  by  forgetfulness  we 
can  never  know;  but  at  least  I  found  that  the 
meaning  of  many  ancient  words  had  disappeared, 
that  the  mystic  meaning  of  the  highly  symbolic 
speeches  seemed  all  gone,  and  I  felt  certain  that 
the  last  part  of  the  Story  of  the  Gambler's  War 
had  been  lost  by  forgetting;  for  it  stops  short 
with  the  preliminary  speeches,  instead  of  going 
on  with  a  detailed  account  of  the  battles  as  does 
the  Story  of  Paht-ahn-kum's  war. 

Another  proof  that  these  tales  were  changed  by 
different  narrators  is  afforded  by  the  variants  of 
some  of  them  published  by  Emory,  Grossman, 
Cook,  and  other  writers  about  the  Pimas. 

As  to  the  mystic  meaning  I  can  only  guess. 
The  mystic  number  four,  so  constantly  used, 
probably  refers  to  the  four  cardinal  points,  but 
my  Indians  seemed  not  aware  of  this.  In  the 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      17 

stories,  West  is  black,  East  is  white  or  light, 
South  is  blue,  North  is  yellow,  and  Above  is 
green.  Of  course  the  west  is  black  because  there 
night  swallows  up  the  sun,  and  the  east  is  light 
because  it  gives  the  sun,  but  why  south  is  blue 
and  north  is  yellow  I  do  not  know.  But  south 
is  the  nearest  way  to  the  ocean,  and  as  in  one 
story  the  word  ocean  seems  used  in  place  of 
south,  I  infer  the  blue  color  was  derived  from 
that.  And  the  desert  lying  north  of  the  ocean 
may  suggest  the  desert  tint,  yellow,  as  the  color 
of  the  north.  As  to  the  sky  being  green,  I  find 
this  in  my  journal:  " August  29 — Last  evening, 
after  sunset,  there  were  the  most  wonderful  sky 
effects — there  was  a  line  of  light  clouds  across 
the  sky,  in  the  west,  about  half  way  up  to  the 
zenith,  and  suddenly  the  white  part  of  these  was 
washed  over,  as  tho  by  a  paint  brush,  with  a 
strong  but  delicate  pea-green,  while  under  this 
spread  a  mist  or  haze  of  dainty  pink,  changing 
to  a  rich,  delicate  mauve.  Lasted  quarter  of  an 
hour  or  more.  Never  saw  anything  like  it  in 
nature  before."  Again,  on  September  6,  I  saw 
nearly  the  same  phenomenon.  The  green  was 
very  strong  and  vivid,  and  could  not  fail  to  at 
tract  an  Indian's  eye,  and  something  of  the  sort, 
I  fancy,  made  him  make  the  strange  choice  of 
green  for  the  sky  color. 

Those  who  like  to  compare  myths  and  folk 
tales  and  ancient  scriptures  will  find  a  rich  field 
here.  And  the  interesting  thing  is  that  these 


18  Aw-aw~tam      Indian  Nights 

tales  come  straight  from  a  line  of  Indians  who 
could  neither  read  nor  write  nor  speak  English, 
therefore  adulteration  by  white  man's  literature 
seems  improbable. 

As  to  the  literary  merit  of  these  tales,  after  all 
that  is  lost  by  a  double  interpretation,  I  consider 
it  still  very  high.  You  must  come  to  them  as  a 
little  child,  for  they  are  intensely  child-like,  and 
to  expect  them  to  be  like  a  white  man's  narra 
tive  is  absurd.  But  they  are  sketched  in  such 
clear,  bold  lines,  with  such  a  sure  touch  and  deli 
cate  expressiveness  of  salient  points;  there  are 
such  close-fitting,  shrewd  bits  of  human  nature; 
such  real  yet  startling  touches  of  poetry  in  meta 
phor;  such  fertile  and  altogether  Indian  imagina 
tion  in  plot  and  incident,  that  the  interest  never 
fails.  No  two  stories  are  alike,  and  if  surprise 
is  a  literary  charm  of  high  value,  and  I  think  it 
is,  then  these  tales  are  certainly  charming,  for 
they  constantly  bring  surprise. 

And  the  poetry,  in  Eeeetoy's  speech  for  ex 
ample,  is  so  rich  and  strong;  and  in  such  parts 
as  the  story  of  the  Nah-vah-choo  the  mysticism 
seems  to  challenge  one  like  a  riddle. 

When  these  old  tales  were  told  with  all  proper 
ceremony  and  respect,  they  were  told  on  four 
successive  nights.  This  could  not  be  in  the  giv 
ing  of  them  to  me,  for  many  practical  reasons, 
but  I  have  endeavored  to  give  them  that  form  for 
my  reader  and  hence  the  title  of  my  book.  But 
I  did  not  discover  how  many  or  what  ones  were 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      19 

told  on  any  one  night,  so  my  division  is  arbi 
trary,  and  only  aims  at  reasonable  equality.  The 
naming,  too,  of  the  different  stories  is-  my  own, 
for  the  old  man  did  not  appear  to  have  any  set 
names  for  them.  I  fancy  the  old  man  was  rusty 
and  out  of  practice,  and  forgot  some  of  the  tales 
in  their  proper  sequence,  and  brought  them  in 
afterward  as  they  recurred  to  him.  For  instance, 
the  story  of  Tcheu-nas-set  Seeven's  singing  away 
another  chief's  wives  evidently  belongs  among 
the  early  stories  of  the  vahahkkee  people,  and  be 
fore  the  account  of  his  death,  when  the  vahahk- 
kees  were  destroyed.  But  I  have  given  the 
stories  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  told  to 
me,  leaving  all  responsibility  on  the  old  seenee- 
yawkum's  shoulders. 

I  lived  a  little  more  than  two  months  with  these 
Indians,  collecting  these  stories,  enjoying  their 
kindly  hospitality,  living  as  they  lived,  eating 
their  food,  riding  their  ponies,  sleeping  on  their 
roofs  under  the  splendid  Arizona  stars. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  day,  before  I  left, 
when  Ed  and  I  saddled  our  ponies  in  the  early 
morning  and  rode  twenty  miles  to  the  Casa  Grande 
ruins.  On  the  way  we  crossed  the  dry  bed  of 
the  Gila;  and  passed  thru  the  Agency  village  of 
Sacaton  and  the  village  of  Blackwater;  skirting 
the  Maricopa  Slaughter  mountains,  where  once 
some  unfortunate  Maricopias  were  waylaid  and 
massacred  by  a  band  of  Apachts,  almost  in  sight 
of  Sacaton.  The  Casa  Grande  ruins  are  impos- 


20  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

ing  enough,  but  sadly  belittled  in  effect  by  the 
well-meant  roof  which  the  government  has  erected 
over  them  to  preserve  them.  This  kills  all  the 
poetry  and  gives  them  the  ludicrous  aspect  of  a 
museum  specimen.  Had  the  old  walls  been  skill 
fully  capped  with  a  waterproof  cement  and  the 
walls  coated  with  some  weatherproof  and  trans 
parent  wash,  all  necessary  security  could  have 
been  effected  with  perhaps  less  expense  than  this 
absurd  roof,  and  all  the  romance  of  impression 
preserved.  Let  us  hope  the  genial  and  manly 
young  custodian,  Mr.  Frank  Pinckly,  to  whose 
warm-hearted  hospitality  and  that  of  his  parents 
I  owe  grateful  thanks,  will  consider  this  sugges 
tion  favorably  and  earn  the  blessing  of  future 
travellers.  A  storm  broke  on  us  while  we  were 
at  the  ruins,  and  riding  home  that  evening  we 
found  the  Gila  flooded.  I  shall  always  re 
member  how  its  muddy  torrent  looked  to  me, 
plunging  along  at  my  feet,  where  that  morning  I 
had  crossed  dry  shod;  its  yellow  waves  shot  with 
blood-red  reflections  from  the  last  colors  of  sunset. 

44  You  better  see  that  Pinto's  cinch  is  tight,  or 
she  may  try  to  get  you  off  in  the  river,"  warned 
Ed,  in  my  ear,  as  he  jumped  off  to  cinch  up 
"Georgie." 

It  was  always  exciting  to  me  to  ford  the  treach 
erous  Gila,  the  tawny  waters  were  so  sweeping, 
and  the  ponies  plunged  so  when  their  feet  felt 
the  quicksands,  but  we  got  across  all  right,  and 
galloped  home  on  the  slippery,  muddy  roads. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pirn  as    21 

When  I  left  these  people  it  was  with  a  genuine 
regard  for  their  virtues.  I  found  them  in  the 
main  kind,  honest,  simple-minded,  industrious, 
surprisingly  clean,  considering  their  obstacles  of 
scant  water  and  ever-present  dust,  and  the  calm 
est  tempered  people  I  have  ever  known. 

I  remember  the  second  day  of  my  stay  we 
were  going  to  ride  to  the  Casa  Blanca  ruins.  In 
watering  the  ponies  at  the  well,  "Georgie's"  loos 
ened  saddle  turned  and  swung  under  his  belly. 
Such  bucking  and  frantic  kicking  as  that  half- 
broken  colt  indulged  in  for  a  few  moments  would 
have  made  a  congress  of  cow-boys  applaud,  and 
when  it  was  over  the  beautiful  colt  stood  ex 
hausted  on  the  far  side  of  a  twenty  acre  field, 
with  the  saddle  fragments  somewhere  between. 
Now  to  poor  Indians  the  loss  of  a  saddle  is  not 
small,  and  I  fancy  most  frontiersmen,  under  the 
provocation,  would  have  made  the  air  blue  with 
oaths,  but  Ed  only  sadly  said:  4Tm  afraid  that 
spoils  Georgie,"  and  the  stepfather  laughed  and 
started  patiently  out  on  the  trail  of  the  colt  "to 
save  the  pieces,'"  while  the  mother  took  one  of 
her  bowl-shaped  Pima  baskets,  with  beans  in  it, 
and  coaxed  the  colt  till  she  caught  him.  Then  he 
was  patted  and  soothed  and  fed  with  sugar,  the 
saddle  patched  up  and  replaced,  and  we  rode 
eighteen  miles  that  day  and  never  another  mis 
hap.  And  from  first  to  last  never  a  harsh  or 
complaining  word. 

I  at  no  time  encountered  a  beggaramong  the  Pimas, 


22  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

and  tho  they  were  mostly  very  poor  I  had  not 
a  pin's  worth  stolen.  I  never  heard  an  oath,  or 
saw  a  brutal  or  violent  act,  or  a  child  slapped  or 
scolded,  or  a  woman  treated  with  disrespect  or  ty 
ranny,  nor  any  drunkenness  or  cruelty  to  animals. 
Perhaps  I  was  especially  fortunate,  but  I  can  only 
speak  of  what  I  saw.  Their  self-respect  and 
serenity  continually  aroused  my  admiration. 

I  must  say  that  they  appeared  to  me  to  excel 
any  average  white  neighborhood  in  good  be 
havior. 

It  is  a  strange  land,  that  in  which  the  Pimas 
dwell;  a  desert  overgrown  with  strange  soft- 
tinted  weeds,  "salt  weeds,"  pink,  red,  green, 
gray,  blue,  purple;  the  rich-green  yellow-flower 
ing  greasewood ;  odd  cacti,  and  all  manner  of 
thornbearing  bushes.  The  soil  is  inexhaustibly 
rich,  were  there  water  enough,  but  the  white 
people,  settling  above  the  Indians,  on  the  Gila, 
have  so  withdrawn  the  water  that  crop  failures 
from  lack  of  sufficient  irrigation  are  the  rule, 
now,  instead  of  the  exception,  and  the  once  ever- 
flowing  Gila  is  more  often  a  dry  channel,  as  sun 
baked  as  the  desert  around  it. 

All  around  their  valley,  and  rising  here  and 
there  from  the  plain,  are  low  volcanic  peaks,  mere 
dead  masses  of  rock  except  where  in  places 
a  giant  cactus  stands  candelabra-like  among  the 
slopes  of  stone.  About  the  feet  of  these  moun 
tains,  and  along  the  channels  where  the  torrents 
rush  down  in  times  of  rain,  are  weird  forests  of 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    23 

desert  growths,  mesquite,  cat-claw,  flat-beans, 
screw-beans,  greasewood,  giant-cactus,  cane-cactus, 
white-cactus,  cholla-cactus,  and  a  host  of  others, 
almost  everything  bristling  with  inumerable  thorns. 

On  this  strange  pasture  of  weed  and  thorn  the 
Indian's  ponies  &  his  few  cattle  graze. 

Here  in  summer  the  sun  beats  down  till  the 
mercury  registers  118  to  120  degrees  in  the  shade, 
and  dust  storms  &  dust  whirlwinds  travel  over 
the  burning  plain. 


STORIES  OF  THE  FIRST  NIGHT 


THE  TRADITIONS  OF  THE  PIMAS 


old  man,  Comalk  Hawk-Kih,  (Thin 
Buckskin)  began  by  saying  that  these 
were  stories  which  he  used  to  hear  his 
father  tell,  they  being  handed  down  from 
father  to  son,  and  that  when  he  was 
little  he  did  not  pay  much  attention,  but  when 
he  grew  older  he  determined  to  learn  them,  and 
asked  his  father  to  teach  him,  which  his  father 
did,  and  now  he  knew  them  all. 

THE    STQRY    OF    THE    CREATION 

In  the  beginning  there  was  no  earth,  no  water 
—nothing.  There  was  only  a  Person,  Juh-wert- 
a-Mah-kai  ( The  Doctor  of  the  Earth). 

He  just  floated,  for  there  was  no  place  for  him 
to  stand  upon.  There  was  no  sun,  no  light,  and 
he  just  floated  about  in  the  darkness,  which  was 
Darkness  itself. 

He  wandered  around  in  the  nowhere  till  he 
thought  he  had  wandered  enough.  Then  he  rub 
bed  on  his  breast  and  rubbed  out  moah-haht- 
tacky  that  is  perspiration,  or  greasy  earth.  This 
he  rubbed  out  on  the  palm  of  his  hand  and  held 
out.  It  tipped  over  three  times,  but  the  fourth 
time  it  staid  straight  in  the  middle  of  the  air  and 
there  it  remains  now  as  the  world. 


28  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

The  first  bush  he  created  was  the  greasewood 
bush. 

And  he  made  ants,  little  tiny  ants,  to  live  on 
that  bush,  on  its  gum  which  comes  out  of  its 
stem. 

But  these  little  ants  did  not  do  any  good,  so 
he  created  white  ants,  and  these  worked  and  en 
larged  the  earth;  and  they  kept  on  increasing  it, 
larger  and  larger,  until  at  last  it  was  big  enough 
for  himself  to  rest.  on. 

Then  he  created  a  Person.  He  made  him  out 
of  his  eye,  out  of  the  shadow  of  his  eyes,  to 
assist  him,  to  be  like  him,  and  to  help  him  in 
creating  trees  and  human  beings  and  everything 
that  was  to  be  on  the  earth. 

The  name  of  this  being  was  Noo-ee  (the  Buz 
zard). 

Nooee  was  given  all  power,  but  he  did  not  do 
the  work  he  was  ^created  for.  He  did  not  care 
to  help  Juhwertamahkai,  but  let  him  go  by  himself. 

And  so  the  Doctor  of  the  Earth  himself  created 
the  mountains  and  everything  that  has  seed  and 
is  good  to  eat.  For  if  he  had  created  human 
beings  first  they  would  have  had  nothing  to  live 
on. 

But  after  making  Nooee  and  before  making  the 
mountains  and  seed  for  food,  Juhwertamahkai 
made  the  sun. 

In  order  to  make  the  sun  he  first  made  water, 
and  this  he  placed  in  a  hollow  vessel,  like  an 
earthen  dish  (hwas-hah-ah)  to  harden  into  some- 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      29 

thing  like  ice.  And.  this  hardened  ball  he  placed 
in  the  sky.  First  he  placed  it  in  the  North,  but 
it  did  not  work;  then  he  placed  it  in  the  West, 
but  it  did  not  work;  then  he  placed  it  in  the 
South,  but  it  did  not  work;  then  he  placed  it  in 
the  East  and  there  it  worked  as  he  wanted  it  to. 

And  the  moon  he  made  in  the  same  way  and 
tried  in  the  same  places,  with  the  same  results. 

But  when  he  made  the  stars  he  took  the  water 
in  his  mouth  and  spurted  it  up  into  the  sky. 
But  the  first  night  his  stars  did  not  give  light 
enough.  So  he  took  the  Doctor-stone  (diamond), 
the  tone-dum-haw-teh,  and  smashed  it  up,  and 
took  the  pieces  and  threw  them  into  the  sky  to 
mix  with  the  water  in  the  stars,  and  then  there 
was  light  enough.* 

And  now  Juhwertamahkai,  rubbed  again  on  his 
breast,  and  from  the  substance  he  obtained  there 
made  two  little  dolls,  and  these  he  laid  on  the 
earth.  And  they  were  human  beings,  man  and 
woman. 

And  now  for  a  time  the  people  increased  till 
they  filled  the  earth.  For  the  first  parents  were 
perfect,  and  there  was  no  sickness  and  no  death. 
But  when  the  earth  was  full,  then  there  was  no 
thing  to  eat,  so  they  killed  and  ate  each  other. 

But  Juhwertamahkai  did  not  like  the  way  his 

*  Many  doubt  that  the  Indians  of  North  America  knew 
anything  about  the  diamond,  but  my  interpreter  insisted 
that  the  Doctor-stone  was  the  diamond,  therefore  I  have 
taken  his  word  for  it.  Perhaps  it  was  crystal. 


30  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

people  acted,  to  kill  and  eat  each  other,  and  so 
he  let  the  sky  fall  to  kill  them.  But  when  the 
sky  dropped  he,  himself,  took  a  staff  and  broke 
a  hole  thru,  thru  which  he  and  Nooee  emerged 
and  escaped,  leaving  behind  them  all  the  people 
dead. 

And  Juhwertamahkai,  being  now  on  the  top  of 
this  fallen  sky,  again  made  a  man  and  a  woman, 
in  the  same  way  as  before.  But  this  man  and 
woman  became  grey  when  old,  and  their  children 
became  grey  still  younger,  and  their  children  be 
came  grey  younger  still,  and  so  on  till  the  babies 
were  gray  in  their  cradles. 

And  Juhwertamahkai,  who  had  made  a  new 
earth  and  sky,  just  as  there  had  been  before,  did 
not  like  his  people  becoming  grey  in  their  cradles, 
so  he  let  the  sky  fall  on  them  again,  and  again 
made  a  hole  and  escaped,  with  Nooee,  as  before. 

And  Juhwertamahkai,  on  top  of  this  second  sky, 
again  made  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  just 
as  he  had  done  before,  and  new  people. 

But  these  new  people  made  a  vice  of  smoking. 
Before  human  beings  had  never  smoked  till  they 
were  old,  but  now  they  smoked  younger,  and 
each  generation  still  younger,  till  the  infants 
wanted  to  smoke  in  their  cradles. 

And  Juhwertamahkai  did  not  like  this,  and  let 
the  sky  fall  again,  and  created  everything  new 
again  in  the  same  way,  and  this  time  he  created 
the  earth  as  it  is  now. 

But  at  first  the  whole  slope  of  the  world  was 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      31 

westward,  and  tho  there  were  peaks  rising  from 
this  slope  there  were  no  true  valleys,  and  all  the 
water  that  fell  ran  away  and  there  was  no  water 
for  the  people  to  drink.  So  Juhwertamahkai  sent 
Nooee  to  fly  around  among  the  mountains,  and 
over  the  earth,  to  cut  valleys  with  his  wings,  so 
that  the  water  could  be  caught  and  distributed  and 
there  might  be  enough  for  the  people  to  drink. 

Now  the  sun  was  male  and  the  moon  was  fe 
male  and  they  met  once  a  month.  And  the  moon 
became  a  mother  and  went  to  a  mountain  called 
Tahs-my-et-tahn  Toe-ahk  (sun  striking  mountain) 
and  there  was  born  her  baby.  But  she  had  du 
ties  to  attend  to,  to  turn  around  and  give  light, 
so  she  made  a  place  for  the  child  by  tramping 
down  the  weedy  bushes  and  there  left  it.  And 
the  child,  having  no  milk,  was  nourished  on  the 
earth. 

And  this  child  was  the  coyote,  and  as  he  grew 
he  went  out  to  walk  and  in  his  walk  came  to  the 
house  of  Juhwertamahkai  and  Nooee,  where  they 
lived. 

And  when  he  came  there  Juhwertamahkai  knew 
him  and  called  him  Toe-hahvs,  because  he  was 
laid  on  the  weedy  bushes  of  that  name. 

But  now  out  of  the  North  came  another  power 
ful  personage,  who  has  two  names,  See-ur-huh 
and  Ee-ee-toy. 

Now  Seeurh'jh  means  older  brother,  and  when 
this  personage  came  to  Juhwertamahkai,  Nooee 
and  Toehahvs  he  called  them  his  younger  bro- 


32  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

thers.  But  they  claimed  to  have  been  here  first, 
and  to  be  older  than  he,  and  there  was  a  dis 
pute  between  them.  But  finally,  because  he  in 
sisted  so  sirongly,  and  just  to  please  him, 
they  let  him  be  called  older  brother. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    33 


JUHWERTA  MAHKAI'S    SONG    OF    CREATION 

Juhwerta  mahkai  made  the  world- 
Come  and  see  it  and  make  it  useful ! 
He  made  it  round- 
Come  and  see  it  and  make  it  useful ! 


34  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES    ON    STORY    OF    CREATION 

The  idea  of  creating  the  earth  from  the  perspiration  and 
waste  cuticle  of  the  Creator  is,  I  believe,  original. 

The  local  touch  in  making  the  greasewood  bush  the 
first  vegetation  is  very  strong. 

In  the  tipping  over  of  the  earth  three  times,  and  its 
standing  right  the  fourth  time,  we  are  introduced  to  the 
first  of  the  mystic  fours  in  which  the  whole  scheme  of 
the  stories  is  cast.  Almost  everything  is  done  four  times 
before  finished. 

The  peculiar  Indian  idea  of  type-animals,  the  immortal 
and  supernatural  representatives  of  their  respective  ani 
mal  tribes,  appears  in  Nooee  and  Toehahvs,  and  here 
again  the  local  color  is  rich  and  strong  in  making  the 
buzzard  and  the  coyote,  the  most  common  and  striking 
animals  of  the  desert,  the  particular  aides  on  the  staff  of 
the  Creator. 

Might  not  the  creation  of  Nooee  out  of  the  shadow  of 
the  eyes  of  the  Doctor  of  the  Earth  be  a  poetical  allusion 
to  the  flying  shadow  of  the  buzzard  on  the  sun-bright 
desert? 

In  the  creation  of  sun  and  moon  we  find  the  mystic 
four  referred  to  the  four  corners  of  the  universe,  North, 
South,  East  and  West,  and  this,  I  am  persuaded,  is  really 
the  origin  of  its  sacred  significance,  for  most  religions 
find  root  and  source  in  astronomy. 

In  the  dropping  of  the  sky  appears  the  old  idea  of  its 
solid  character. 

In  the  "slope  of  the  world  to  the  Westward"  there  is 
something  curiously  significant  when  we  remember  that 
both  the  Gila  and  Salt  Rivers  flow  generally  westward. 

Nooee  cuts  the  valleys  with  his  wings.  It  would  al 
most  appear  that  Nooee  was  Juhwertamahkai's  agent  in 
the  air  and  sky,  Toehahvs  on  earth. 

The  night-prowling  coyote  is  appropriately  and  poetically 
mothered  by  the  moon. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    35 

And  here  appears  Eeeetoy,  the  most  active  and  myster 
ious  personality  in  Piman  mythology.  Out  of  the  North, 
apparently  self-existant,  but  little  inferior  in  power  to  Juh- 
wertamahkai,  and  claiming  greater  age,  he  appears,  by  pure 
"bluff"  and  persistent  push  and  wheedling,  to  have  in 
duced  the  really  more  powerful,  but  good-natured  and 
rather  lazy  Juhwertamahkai  to  give  over  most  of  the  real 
work  and  government  of  the  world  to  him.  In  convers 
ing  with  Harry  Azul,  the  head  chief's  son,  at  Sacaton, 
I  found  he  regarded  Eeeetoy  and  Juhwertamahki  as  but 
two  names  for  the  same.  And  indeed  it  is  hard  to  fix 
Eeeetoy's  place  or  power. 


a  *.  >; 
NI 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FLOOD 

OW  Seeurhuh  was  very  powerful,  like 
Juhwerta  Mahkai,  and  as  he  took  up  his 
residence  with  them,  as  one  of  them, 
he  did  many  wonderful  things  which 
pleased  Juhwerta  Mahkai,  who  liked  to 
watch  him. 

And  after  doing  many  marvelous  things  he,  too, 
made  a  man. 

And  to  this  man  whom  he  had  made,  Seeur 
huh  (whose  other  name  was  Ee-ee-toy)  gave  a 
bow  &  arrows,  and  guarded  his  arm  against  the 
bow  string  by  a  piece  of  wild-cat  skin,  and  pierced 
his  ears  &  made  ear-rings  for  him,  like  turquoises 
to  look  at,  from  the  leaves  of  the  weed  called 
quah-wool.  And  this  man  was  the  most  beauti 
ful  man  yet  made. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  told  this  young  man,  who  was 
just  of  marriageable  age,  to  look  around  and  see 
if  he  could  find  any  young  girl  in  the  villages 
that  would  suit  him  and,  if  he  found  her,  to  see 
her  relatives  and  see  if  they  were  willing  he 
should  marry  her. 

And  the  beautiful  young  man  did  this,  and 
found  a  girl  that  pleased  him,  and  told  her  fam 
ily  of  his  wish,  and  they  accepted  him,  and  he 
married  her. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      37 

And  the  names  of  both  these  are  now  forgotten 
and  unknown. 

And  when  they  were  married  Ee-ee-toy,  fore 
seeing  what  would  happen,  went  &  gathered  the 
gum  of  the  greasewood  tree. 

Here  the  narrative  states,  with  far  too  much 
plainness  of  circumstantial  detail  for  popular 
reading,  that  this  young  man  married  a  great 
many  wives  in  rapid  succession,  abandoning 
the  last  one  with  each  new  one  wedded,  and 
had  children  with  abnormal,  even  uncanny  swift 
ness,  for  which  the  wives  were  blamed  and  for 
which  suspicion  they  were  thus  heartlessly  di 
vorced.  Because  of  this,  Juhwerta  Mahkai  and 
Ee-ee-toy  foresaw  that  nature  would  be  convulsed 
and  a  great  flood  would  come  to  cover  the  world. 

And  then  the  narrative  goes  on  to  say: 

Now  there  was  a  doctor  who  lived  down  to 
ward  the  sunset  whose  name  was  Vahk-lohv  Mah 
kai,  or  South  Doctor,  who  had  a  beautiful  daughter. 
And  when  his  daughter  heard  of  this  young  man 
and  what  had  happened  to  his  wives  she  was 
afraid  and  cried  every  day.  And  when  her  father 
saw  her  crying  he  asked  her  what  was  the  mat 
ter?  was  she  sick?  And  when  she  had  told  him 
what  she  was  afraid  of,  for  every  one  knew  and 
was  talking  of  this  thing,  he  said  yes,  he  knew 
it  was  true,  but  she  ought  not  to  be  afraid,  for 
there  was  happiness  for  a  woman  in  marriage  and 
the  mothering  of  children. 


38  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  it  took  many  years  for  the  young  man  to 
marry  all  these  wives,  and  have  all  these  child 
ren,  and  all  this  time  Ee-ee-toy  was  busy  making 
a  great  vessel  of  the  gum  he  had  gathered  from 
the  grease  bushes,  a  sort  of  olla  which  could  be 
closed  up,  which  would  keep  back  water.  And 
while  he  was  making  this  he  talked  over  the  rea 
sons  for  it  with  Juhwerta  Mahkai,  Nooee,  and 
Toehahvs,  that  it  was  because  there  was  a  great 
flood  coming. 

And   several    birds  heard  them  talking  thus  - 
the  woodpecker,  Hick-o-vick;  the  humming-bird, 
Vee-pis-mahl ;   a  little  bird  named  Gee-ee-sopy 
and  another  called  Quota-veech. 

Eeeetoy  said  he  would  escape  the  flood  by 
getting  into  the  vessel  he  was  making  from  the 
gum  of  the  grease  bushes  or  ser-quoy. 

And  Juhwerta  Mahkai  said  he  would  get  into 
his  staff,  or  walking  stick,  and  float  about. 

And  Toehahvs  said  he  would  get  into  a  cane- 
tube. 

And  the  little  birds  said  the  water  would  not 
reach  the  sky,  so  they  would  fly  up  there  and 
hang  on  by  their  bills  till  it  was  over. 

And  Nooee,  the  buzzard,  the  powerful,  said  he 
did  not  care  if  the  flood  did  reach  the  sky,  for 
he  could  find  a  way  to  break  thru. 

Now  Ee-ee-toy  was  envious,  and  anxious  to 
get  ahead  of  Juhwerta  Mahkai  and  get  more  fame 
for  his  wonderful  deeds,  but  Juhwerta  Mahkai, 
though  really  the  strongest,  was  generous  and  from 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      39 

kindness  and  for  relationship  sake  let  Ee-ee-toy 
have  the  best  of  it. 

And  the  young  girl,  the  doctor's  daughter,  kept 
on  crying,  fearing  the  young  man,  feeling  him 
ever  coming  nearer,  and  her  father  kept  on  re 
assuring  her,  telling  her  it  would  be  all  right,  but 
at  last,  out  of  pity  for  her  fears  &  tears,  he  told 
her  to  go  and  get  him  the  little  tuft  of  the  finest 
thorns  on  the  top  of  the  white  cactus,  the  haht- 
sahn-kahm,*  and  bring  to  him. 

And  her  father  took  the  cactus-tuft  which  she 
had  brought  him,  and  took  hair  from  her  head 
and  wound  about  one  end  of  it,  and  told  her  if 
she  would  wear  this  it  would  protect  her.  And 
she  consented  and  wore  the  cactus-tuft. 

And  he  told  her  to  treat  the  young  man  right, 
when  he  came,  &  make  him  broth  of  corn.  And 
if  the  young  man  should  eat  all  the  broth,  then 
their  plan  would  fail,  but  if  he  left  any  broth 
she  was  to  eat  that  up  and  then  their  plan  would 
succeed. 

And  he  told  her  to  be  sure  and  have  a  bow 
and  arrows  above  the  door  of  the  kee,  so  that  he 
could  take  care  of  the  young  man. 

And  after  her  father  had  told  her  this,  on  that 


*  What  the  Pimas  call  the  haht-sahn-kahm  is  the 
wickedest  cactus  in  Arizona.  The  tops  of  the  branches 
fall  off,  and  lie  on  the  ground,  and  if  stepped  on  the 
thorns  will  go  thru  ordinary  shoe  leather  and  seem  to 
hold  with  the  tenacity  of  fish-hooks,  so  that  it  is  almost 
mpossible  to  draw  them  out. 


40  Aw-aw-tam     Indian  Nights 

very  evening  the  young  man  came,  and  the  girl 
received  him  kindly,  and  took  his  bows  &  arrows, 
and  put  them  over  the  door  of  the  kee,  as  her 
father  had  told  her,  and  made  the  young  man 
broth  of  corn  and  gave  it  to  him  to  eat. 

And  he  ate  only  part  of  it  and  what  was  left 
she  ate  herself. 

And  before  this  her  father  had  told  her:  "If 
the  young  man  is  wounded  by  the  thorns  you 
wear,  in  that  moment  he  will  become  a  woman 
and  a  mother  and  you  will  become  a  young  man." 

And  in  the  night  all  this  came  to  be,  even  so,  and 
by  day-break  the  child  was  crying. 

And  the  old  woman  ran  in  and  said:  "Mos- 
say  /"  which  means  an  old  woman's  grandchild 
from  a  daughter. 

And  the  daughter,  that  had  been,  said:  "It  is 
not  your  moss,  it  is  your  cah-um-maht^  that  is 
an  old  woman's  grandchild  from  a  son. 

And  then  the  old  man  ran  in  and  said:"£a/i- 
ahm-ah-dah!"  that  is  an  old  man's  grandchild 
from  a  daughter,  but  his  daughter  said :  "  It  is 
not  your  bah-ahm-maht,  but  it  is  your  voss-ahm- 
maht"  which  is  an  old  man's  grandchild  from 
a  son. 

And  early  in  the  morning  this  young  man  (that 
had  been,  but  who  was  now  a  woman  &  a  mother) 
made  a  wawl-kote,  a  carrier,  or  cradle,  for  the 
baby  and  took  the  trail  back  home. 

And  Juhwerta  Mahkai  told  his  neighbors  of  what 
was  coming,  this  young  man  who  had  changed 


The  Myths  and  Legends. of  the  Pimas   41 

into  a  woman  and  a  mother  and  was  bringing  a 
baby  born  from  himself,  and  that  when  he  ar 
rived  wonderful  things  would  happen  &  springs 
would  gush  forth  from  under  every  tree  and  on 
every  mountain. 

And  the  young  man-woman  came  back  and  by 
the  time  of  his  return  Ee-ee-toy  had  finished  his 
vessel  and  had  placed  therein  seeds  &  everything 
that  is  in  the  world. 

And  the  young  man-woman,  when  he  came  to 
his  old  home,  placed  his  baby  in  the  bushes  and 
left  it,  going  in  without  it,  but  Ee-ee-toy  turned 
around  and  looked  at  him  and  knew  him,  for  he 
did  not  wear  a  woman's  dress,  and  said  to  him: 
"Where  is  my  Bahahmmaht?  Bring  it  to  me. 
I  want  to  see  it.  It  is  a  joy  for  an  old  man  to 
see  his  grandchild. 

I  have  sat  here  in  my  house  and  watched  your 
going,  and  all  that  has  happened  you,  and  fore 
seen  some  one  would  send  you  back  in  shame, 
although  I  did  not  like  to  think  there  was  anyone 
more  powerful  than  I.  But  never  mind,  he  who 
has  beaten  us  will  see  what  will  happen. " 

And  when  the  young  man-woman  went  to  get 
his  baby,  Ee-ee-toy  got  into  his  vessel,  and  built 
a  fire  on  the  hearth  he  had  placed  therein,  and 
sealed  it  up. 

And  the  young  man-woman  found  his  baby 
crying,  and  the  tears  from  it  were  all  over  the 
ground,  around.  And  when  he  stooped  over  to 
pick  up  his  child  he  turned  into  a  sand-snipe, 


42  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

and   the   baby  turned   into   a   little   teeter-snipe. 

And  then  that  came  true  which  Juhwerta  Mahkai 
had  said,  that  water  would  gush  out  from  under 
every  tree  &  on  every  mountain ;  and  the  people 
when  they  saw  it,  and  knew  that  a  flood  was 
coming,  ran  to  Juhwerta  Mahkai;  and  he  took  his 
staff  and  made  a  hole  in  the  earth  and  let  all 
those  thru  who  had  come  to  him,  but  the  rest 
were  drowned. 

Then  Juhwerta  Mahkai  got  into  his  walking 
stick  &  floated,  and  Toehahvs  got  into  his  tube 
of  cane  and  floated,  but  Ee-ee-toy's  vessel  wss 
heavy  &  big  and  remained  until  the  flood  was 
much  deeper  before  it  could  float. 

And  the  people  who  were  left  out  fled  to  the 
mountains ;  to  the  mountains  called  Gah-kote-kih 
(Superstition  Mts.)  for  they  were  living  in  the 
plains  between  Gahkotekih  and  Cheoffskawmack 
(Tall  Gray  Mountain.) 

And  there  was  a  powerful  man  among  these 
people,  a  doctor  (mahkai),  who  set  a  mark  on  the 
mountain  side  and  said  the  water  would  not  rise 
above  it. 

And  the  people  believed  him  and  camped  just 
beyond  the  mark;  but  the  water  came  on  and 
they  had  to  go  higher.  And  this  happened  four 
times. 

And  the  mahkai  did  this  to  help  his  people,  and 
also  usecl  power  to  raise  the  mountain,  but  at 
last  he  saw  all  was  to  be  a  failure.  And  he 
called  the  people  and  asked  them  all  to  come 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   43 

close  together,  and  he  took  his  doctor-stone  (mah- 
kai-haw-teh)  which  is  called  Tonedumhawteh 
or  Stone-of-Light,  and  held  it  in  the  palm  of  his 
hand  and  struck  it  hard  with  his  other  hand,  and 
it  thundered  so  loud  that  all  the  people  were 
frightened  and  they  were  all  turned  into  stone. 

And  the  little  birds,  the  woodpecker,  Hicko- 
vick;  the  humming-bird,  Veepismahl;  the  little 
bird  named  Ge-ee-sop,  and  the  other  called  Quota- 
veech,  all  flew  up  to  the  sky  and  hung  on  by  their 
bills,  but  Nooee  still  floated  in  the  air  and  in 
tended  to  keep  on  the  wing  unless  the  floods 
reached  the  heavens. 

But  Juhwerta  Mahkai,  Ee-ee-toy  and  Toehahvs 
floated  around  on  the  water  and  drifted  to  the 
west  and  did  not  know  where  they  were. 

And  the  flood  rose  higher  until  it  reached  the 
woodpecker's  tail,  and  you  can  see  the  marks 
to  this  day. 

And  Quotaveech  was  cold  and  cried  so  loud 
that  the  other  birds  pulled  off  their  feathers  and 
built  him  a  nest  up  there  so  he  could  keep  warm. 
And  when  Quotaveech  was  warm  he  quit  crying. 

And  then  the  little  birds  sang,  for  they  had 
power  to  make  the  water  go  down  by  singing, 
and  as  they  sang  the  waters  gradually  receeded. 

But  the  others  still  floated  around. 

When  the  land  began  to  appear  Juhwerta  Mahkai 
and  Toehahvs  got  out,  but  Ee-ee-toy  had  to  wait 
for  his  house  to  warm  up,  for  he  had  built  a  fire 
to  warm  his  vessel  enough  for  him  to  unseal  it. 


44  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

When  it  was  warm  enough  he  unsealed  it,  but 
when  he  looked  out  he  saw  the  water  still  run 
ning  &  he  got  back  and  sealed  himself  in  again. 

And  after  waiting  a  while  he  unsealed  his  ves 
sel  again,  and  seeing  dry  land  enough  he  got  out. 

And  Juhwerta  Mahkai  went  south  and  Toehahvs 
went  west,  and  Ee-ee-toy  went  northward.  And 
as  they  did  not  know  where  they  were  they 
missed  each  other,  and  passed  each  other  unseen, 
but  afterward  saw  each  other's  tracks,  and  then 
turned  back  and  shouted,  but  wandered  from  the 
track,  and  again  passed  unseen.  And  this  hap 
pened  four  times. 

And  the  fourth  time  Juhwerta  Mahkai  and  Ee- 
ee-toy  met,  but  Toehahvs  had  passed  already. 

And  when  they  met,  Ee-ee-toy  said  to  Juhwerta 
Mahkai  "My  younger  brother !"  but  Juhwerta 
Mahkai  greeted  him  as  younger  brother  &  claimed 
to  have  come  out  first.  Then  Ee-ee-toy  said 
again:  "I  came  out  first  and  you  can  see  the 
water  marks  on  my  body."  But  Juhwerta  Mahkai 
replied:  "I  came  out  first  and  also  have  the 
water  marks  on  my  person  to  prove  it." 

But  Ee-ee-toy  so  insisted  that  he  was  the  eldest 
that  Juhwerta  Mahkai,  just  to  please  him,  gave 
him  his  way  and  let  him  be  considered  the  elder. 

And  then  they  turned  westward  and  yelled  to 
find  Toehahvs,  for  they  remembered  to  have 
seen  his  tracks,  and  they  kept  on  yelling  till  he 
heard  them.  And  when  Toehahvs  saw  them  he 
called  them  his  younger  brothers,  and  they  called 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     45 

him  younger  brother.  And  this  dispute  continued 
till  Ee-ee-toy  again  got  the  best  of  it,  and  although 
really  the  younger  brother  was  admitted  by  the 
the  others  to  be  Seeurhuh,  or  the  elder. 

And  the  birds  came  down  from  the  sky  and 
again  there  was  a  dispute  about  the  relationship, 
but  Ee-ee-toy  again  got  the  best  of  them  all. 

But  Quotaveech  staid  up  in  the  sky  because 
he  had  a  comfortable  nest  there,  and  they  called 
him  Vee-ick-koss-kum  Mahkai,  the  Feather-Nest 
Doctor. 

And  they  wanted  to  find  the  middle,  the  navel 
of  the  earth,  and  they  sent  Veeppismahl,  the  hum 
ming  bird,  to  the  west,  and  Hickovick,  the  wood 
pecker,  to  the  east,  and  all  the  others  stood  and 
waited  for  them  at  the  starting  place.  And  Vee- 
pismahl  &  Hickovick  were  to  go  as  far  as  they 
could,  to  the  edge  of  the  world,  and  then  return 
to  find  the  middle  of  the  earth  by  their  meeting. 
But  Hickovick  flew  a  little  faster  and  got  there 
first,  and  so  when  they  met  they  found  it  was 
not  the  middle,  and  they  parted  &  started  again, 
but  this  time  they  changed  places  and  Hickovick 
went  westward  and  Veepismahl  went  east. 

And  this  time  Veepismahl  was  the  faster,  and 
Hickovick  was  late,  and  the  judges  thought  their 
place  of  meeting  was  a  little  east  of  the  center  so 
they  all  went  a  little  way  west.  Ee-ee-toy,  Juhwerta 
Mahkai  and  Toehahvs  stood  there  and  sent  the 
birds  out  once  more,  and  this  time  Hickovick 
went  eastward  again,  and  Veepismahl  went  west. 


46  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  Hickovick  flew  faster  and  arrived  there 
first.  And  they  said  :  'This  is  not  the  middle.  It 
is  a  little  way  west  yet." 

And  so  they  moved  a  little  way,  and  again  the 
birds  were  sent  forth,  and  this  time  Hickovick 
went  west  and  Veepismahl  went  east.  And  when 
the  birds  returned  they  met  where  the  others 
stood  and  all  cried  "This  is  the  Hick,  the  Navel 
of  the  World!" 

And  they  stood  there  because  there  was  no  dry 
place  yet  for  them  to  sit  down  upon;  and  Ee-ee- 
toy  rubbed  upon  his  breast  and  took  from  his 
bosom  the  smallest  ants,  the  0-auf -taw-ton,  and 
threw  them  upon  the  ground,  and  they  worked 
there  and  threw  up  little  hills;  and  this  earth  was 
dry.  And  so  they  sat  down. 

But  the  water  was  still  running  in  the  valleys, 
and  Ee-ee-toy  took  a  hair  from  his  head  &  made 
it  into  a  snake  — Vuck-vahmuht.  And  with  this 
snake  he  pushed  the  waters  south,  but  the  head 
of  the  snake  was  left  lying  to  the  west  and  his 
tail  to  the  east. 

But  there  was  more  water,  and  Ee-ee-toy  took 
another  hair  from  his  head  and  made  another 
snake,  and  with  this  snake  pushed  the  rest  of  the 
water  north.  And  the  head  of  this  snake  was 
left  to  the  east  and  his  tail  to  the  west.  So  the 
head  of  each  snake  was  left  lying  with  the  tail 
of  the  other. 

And  the  snake  that  has  his  tail  to  the  east,  in 
the  morning  will  shake  up  his  tail  to  start  the 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     47 

morning  wind  to  wake  the  people  and  tell  them 
to  think  of  their  dreams. 

And  the  snake  that  has  his  tail  to  the  west,  in 
the  evening  will  shake  up  his  tail  to  start  the  cool 
wind  to  tell  the  people  it  is  time  to  go  in  and 
make  the  fires  &  be  comfortable. 

And  they  said:  "We  will  make  dolls,  but  we 
will  not  let  each  other  see  them  until  they  are 
finished." 

And  Ee-ee-toy  sat  facing  the  west,  and  Toe- 
hahvs  facing  the  south,  and  Juhwerta  Mahkai 
facing  the  east. 

And  the  earth  was  still  damp  and  they  took 
clay  and  began  'to  make  dolls.  And  Ee-ee-toy 
made  the  best.  But  Juhwerta  Mahkai  did  not  make 
good  ones,  because  he  remembered  some  of  his 
people  had  escaped  the  flood  thru  a  hole  in 
the  earth,  and  he  intended  to  visit  them  and  he 
did  not  want  to  make  anything  better  than  they 
were  to  take  the  place  of  them.  And  Toehahvs 
made  the  poorest  of  all. 

Then  Ee-ee-toy  asked  them  if  they  were  ready, 
and  they  all  said  yes,  and  then  they  turned  about 
and  showed  each  other  the  dolls  they  had  made. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  asked  Juhwerta  Mahkai  why  he 
had  made  such  queer  dolls.  "This  one,"  he  said, 
"is  not  right,  for  you  have  made  him  without 
any  sitting-down  parts,  and  how  can  he  get  rid 
of  the  waste  of  what  he  eats?" 

But  Juhwerta  Mahkai  said : "  He  will  not  need  to 
eat,  he  can  just  smell  the  smell  of  what  is  cooked." 


48  Aw-aW'tam      Indian  Nights 

Then  Ee-ee-toy  asked  again :  "Why  did  you 
make  this  doll  with  only  one  leg  — how  can  he 
run?"  But  Juhwerta  Mahkai  replied:  "He  will 
not  need  to  run;  he  can  just  hop  around." 

Then  Ee-ee-toy  asked  Toehahvs  why  he  had 
made  a  doll  with  webs  between  his  fingers  and 
toes — "How  can  he  point  directions?"  But 
Toehahvs  said  he  had  made  these  dolls  so  for 
good  purpose,  for  if  anybody  gave  them  small  seeds 
they  would  not  slip  between  their  fingers,  and  they 
could  use  the  webs  for  dippers  to  drink  with. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  held  up  his  dolls  and  said : 
"These  are  the  best  of  all,  and  I  want  you  to 
make  more  like  them."  And  he  took  Toehahv's 
dolls  and  threw  them  into  the  water  and  they  be 
came  ducks  &  beavers.  And  he  took  Juhwerta 
Mahkai's  dolls  and  threw  them  away  and  they  all 
broke  to  pieces  and  were  nothing. 

And  Juhwerta  Mahkai  was  angry  at  this  and  be 
gan  to  sink  into  the  ground;  and  took  his  stick 
and  hooked  it  into  the  sky  and  pulled  the  sky 
down  while  he  was  sinking.  But  Ee-ee-toy  spread 
his  hand  over  his  dolls,  and  held  up  the  sky,  and 
seeing  that  Juhwerta  Mahkai  was  sinking  into  the 
earth  he  sprang  and  tried  to  hold  him  &  cried, 
"Man,  what  are  you  doing !  Are  you  going  to 
leave  me  and  my  people  here  alone?" 

But  Juhwerta  Mahkai  slipped  through  his  hands, 
leaving  in  them  only  the  waste  &  excretion  of  his 
skin.  And  that  is  how  there  is  sickness  &  death 
among  us. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    49 

And  Ee-ee-toy,  when  Juhwerta  Mahkai  escaped 
him,  went  around  swinging  his  hands  &  saying: 
"I  never  thought  ail  this  impurity  would  come 
upon  my  people!"  and  the  swinging  of  his  hands 
scattered  disease  over  all  the  earth.  And  he 
washed  himself  in  a  pool  or  pond  and  the  im 
purities  remaining  in  the  water  are  the  source  of 
the  malarias  and  all  the  diseases  of  dampness. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  and  Toehahvs  built  a  house  for 
their  dolls  a  little  way  off,  and  Ee-ee-toy  sent 
Toehahvs  to  listen  if  they  were  yet  talking.  And 
the  Aw-up,  (the  Apaches)  were  the  first  onts 
that  talked.  And  Ee-ee-toy  said  :  "I  never  meant 
to  have  those  Apaches  talk  first,  I  would  rather 
have  had  the  Aw-aw-tam,  the  Good  People,  speak 
first/' 

But  he  said :  "It  is  all  right.  I  will  give  them 
strength,  that  they  stand  the  cold  &  all  hardships." 

And  all  the  different  people  that  they  had  made 
talked,  one  after  the  other,  but  the  Awawtam 
talked  last. 

And  they  all  took  to  playing  together,  and  in 
their  play  they  kicked  each  other  as  the  Maricopas 
do  in  sport  to  this  day;  but  the  Apaches  got 
angry  and  said  :  "We  will  leave  you  and  go  into 
the  mountains  'and  eat  what  we  can  get,  but  we 
will  dream  good  dreams  and  be  just  as  happy  as 
you  with  all  your  good  things  to  eat." 

And  some  of  the  people  took  up  their  residence 
on  the  Gila,  and  some  went  west  to  the  Rio 
Colorado.  And  those  who  builded  vahahkkees, 


50  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

or  houses  out  of  adobe  and  stones,  lived  in  the 
valley  of  the  Gila,  between  the  mountains  which 
are  there  now. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    51 


JUHWERTA  MAHKAI'S  SONG  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 

My  poor  people, 
Who  will  see, 
Who  will  see 
This  water  which  will  moisten  the  earth! 


THE  SONG  OF  SUPERSTITION  MOUNTAINS 

We  are  destroyed! 

By  my  stone  we  are  destroyed! 

We  are  rightly  turned  into  stone. 


EE-EE-TOY'S  SONG 
WHEN  HE  MADE  THE  WORLD  SERPENTS 

I  know  what  to  do; 
I  am  going  to  move  the  water 
both  ways. 


52  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  THE  FLOOD 

In  the  Story  of  the  Flood  we  are  introduced  to  Indian 
marriage.  Among  the  Pimas  it  was  a  very  simple  affair. 
There  was  no  ceremony  whatever.  The  lover  usually  se 
lected  a  relative,  who  went  with  him  to  the  parents  of  the 
girl  and  asked  the  father  to  permit  the  lover  to  marry  her. 
Presents  were  seldom  given  unless  a  very  old  man  desired 
a  young  bride.  The  girl  was  consulted  and  her  consent 
was  essential,  her  refusal  final.  If,  however,  all  parties 
were  satisfied,  she  went  at  once  with  her  husband  as  his 
wife.  If  either  party  became  dissatisfied,  separation  at 
once  constituted  divorce  and  either  could  leave  the  other. 
A  widow  or  divorced  woman,  if  courted  by  another  suitor, 
was  approached  directly,  with  no  intervention  of  relatives. 
Of  course,  on  these  terms  there  were  many  separations, 
yet  all  accounts  agree  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  fidel 
ity  and  many  life-long  unions  and  cases  of  strong  affection. 

Polygamy  was  not  unknown. 

Grossman  says  that  the  wife  was  the  slave  of  the  hus 
band,  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  a  woman,  free  at  any 
moment  to  divorce  herself  without  disgrace  or  coercion, 
could  be  properly  regarded  as  a  slave.  Certainly  the  men 
appear  always  to  have  done  a  large  part  of  the  hard  work, 
and  as  far  as  I  could  see  the  'women  were  remarkably 
equal  and  independent  and  respectfully  treated,  as  such  a 
system  would  naturally  bring  about.  A  man  would  be  a 
fool  to  ill-treat  a  woman,  whose  love  or  services  were 
valuable  to  him,  if  at  any  moment  of  discontent  she  could 
leave  him,  perhaps  for  a  rival.  The  chances  are  that  he 
would  constantly  endeavor  to  hold  her  allegiance  by 
special  kindness  and  favors. 

But    today  legal    marriage  is  replacing  the  old  system. 

So  far  as  I  saw  the  Pimas  were  very  harmonious  and 
kindly  in  family  life. 

The  birds,  gee-ee-sop  and  quotaveech,  were  pointed  out 
to  me  by  the  Pimas,  and  as  near  as  I  could  tell  quota 
veech  was  Bendire's  thrasher,  or  perhaps  the  curve-bill 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pirn  as      53 

thrasher.  It  has  a  very  sweet  but  timid  song.  I  did  not 
succeed  in  identifying  gee-ee-sop,  but  find  these  entries 
about  him  in  my  journal:  "Aug.  5  —  1  saw  a  little  bird 
which  I  suppose  to  be  a  gee-ee-sop  in  a  mezquite  today, 
smaller  and  more  slender  than  a  vireo,  but  like  one  in 
action,  but  the  tail  longer  and  carried  more  like  a  brown 
thrasher,  nearly  white  below,  dark,  leaden  gray  above,  top 
of  head  and  tail  black."  Again  on  Sept.  1:  "What  a  dear 
little  bird  the  gee-ee-sop  is!  Two  of  them  in  the  oas-juh- 
wert-pot  tree  were  looking  at  me  a  few  minutes  back. 
Dark  slate-blue  above  and  nearly  white  below,  with  beady 
black  eyes  and  black,  lively  tails,  tipped  with  white,  they 
are  very  pretty,  tame  and  confiding." 

The  faith  of  the  Aw-aw-tam  in  witchcraft  appears  first 
in  this  story  and  afterwards  is  conspicuous  in  nearly  all. 
Almost  all  diseases  they  supposed  were  caused  by  be 
witching,  and  it  was  the  chief  business  of  the  medicine 
men  to  find  out  who  or  what  had  caused  the  bewitching. 
Sometimes  people  were  accused  and  murders  followed. 
This  was  the  darkest  spot  in  Piman  life.  Generally,  how 
ever,  some  animal  or  inanimate  object  was  identified. 
Grossman's  account  in  the  Smithsonian  Report  for  1871 
is  interesting.  In  the  stories,  however,  witchcraft  appears 
usually  as  the  ability  of  the  mahkai  to  work  transforma 
tions  in  himself  or  others,  in  true  old  fairy-tale  style. 

Superstition  Mountain  derives  its  name  from  this  story, 
It  is  a  very  beautiful  and  impressive  mountain,  with  ter 
races  of  cliffs,  marking  perhaps  the  successive  pausing 
places  of  the  fugitives,  and  the  huddled  rocks  on  the  top 
represent  their  petrified  forms.  Some  of  the  older  Indians 
still  fear  to  go  up  into  this  mountain,  lest  a  like  fate 
befall  them. 

What  beautiful  poetic  touches  are  the  wetting  of  the 
woodpecker's  tail,  and  the  singing  of  the  little  birds  to 
subdue  the  angry  waters. 

The  resemblances  to  Genesis  will  of  course  be  noted 
by  all  in  these  two  first  stories.  Yet  after  all  they  are 
few  and  slight  in  any  matter  of  detail. 


54  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

In  Ee-ee-toy's  serpents,  that  pushed  back  the  waters, 
there  is  a  strong  'reminder  of  the  Norse  Midgard  Serpent. 

The  making  of  the  dolls  in  this  story  is  one  of  the 
prettiest  and  most  amusing  spots  in  the  traditions. 

The  waste  and  perspiration  of  Juhwerta  Mahkai's  skin 
again  comes  into  play,  but  this  time  as  a  malign  force 
instead  of  a  beneficent  one.  It  would  also  appear  from 
this  that  the  more  intelligent  Pimas  had  a  glimmering  of 
the  fact  that  there  were  other  causes  than  witchcraft  for 
disease. 

I  have  generally  used  the  word  Aw-aw-tam  (Good  Peo 
ple,  or  People  of  Peace)  as  synonymous  with  Pima,  but 
it  is  sometimes  used  to  embrace  all  Indians  of  the  Piman 
stock  and  may  be  so  understood  in  this  story. 

And  perhaps  this  is  as  good  a  place  as  any  to  say  a 
few  descriptive  words  about  these  Pimas  of  Arizona,  and 
their  allies,  who  have  from  prehistoric  times  inhabited 
what  the  old  Spanish  historian,  Clavigero,  called  "Pime- 
ria,"  that  is,  the  valleys  of  the  Gila  and  Salt  Rivers. 

Their  faces  seemed  to  me  to  be  of  almost  Caucasian 
regularity  and  rather  of  an  English  or  Dutch  cast,  that  is 
rather  heavily  moulded.  The  forehead  is  vertical  and  in 
clined  to  be  square;  and  the  chin,  broad,  heavy  and  full, 
comes  out  well  to  its  line.  The  nose  is  straight,  or  a 
little  irregular,  or  rounded,  at  the  end,  but  not  often  very 
aquiline,  never  flat  or  wide-nostriled.  Th'e  mouth  is  large 
but  well  shaped,  with  short,  white,  remarkably  even  teeth, 
seldom  showing  any  canine  projection.  The  whole  face 
is  a  little  heavy  and  square,  but  the  cheek  bones  are  not 
especially  prominent.  The  eyes  are  level,  frank  and  di 
rect  in  glance,  with  long  lashes  and  strong  black  brows. 
In  the  babies  a  slight  uptilt  to  the  eye  is  sometimes 
seen,  like  a  Japanese,  which  indeed  the  babies  suggest. 
Th^  head  of  almost  all  adults  is  well-balanced  and  finely 
poised  on  a  good  neck. 

Another  type  possesses  more  of  what  we  call  the  Indian 
feature.  The  forehead  retreats  somewhat,  so  does  the 
chin,  while  the  upper  lip  is  larger,  longer,  more  convex 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      55 

and  the  nose,  above  is  more  aquiline,  with  wider  nostrils. 
Consequently  this  face  in  profile  is  more  convex  thruout. 
The  cheek-bones  are  much  more  prominent,  too,  and  the 
head  not  generally  so  well-balanced  and  proportional. 

.While  I  have  seen  no  striking  beauty  I  believe  the 
average  good  looks  is  greater  than  among  white  men, 
taken  as  they  come, 

The  women  as  a  rule,  however,  do  not  carry  themselves 
gracefully,  are  apt  to  be  too  broad,  fat  and  dumpy  in  fig 
ure,  with  too  large  waists,  and  often  loose,  ungracefully- 
moving  hips.  This  deformity  of  the  hips,  for  it  almost 
amounts  to  that,  I  observe  among  Italian  peasant  women, 
too,  and  some  negresses,  and,  I  take  it,  is  caused  by 
carrying  too  heavy  loads  on  the  head  at  too  early  an  age. 
There  seems  to  be  a  settling  down  of  the  body  into  the 
pelvis,  with  a  loose  alternate  motion  of  the  hips.  There 
are  exceptions,  of  course,  and  I  have  seen  those  of  stately 
figure  and  fine  carriage  Sometimes  the  loose-hip  motion 
appears  in  a  man. 

A  slight  tattooing  appears  on  almost  all  Pima  faces  not 
of  the  last  generation.  In  the  women  this  consists  of  two 

blue  lines  running  down  from  each  corner  of  the  mouth, 
under  the  chin,  crossing,  at  the  start,  the  lower  lip,  and 

a  single  blue  line  running    back   from  the  outer  angle  of 

each  eye  to  the  hair. 
In  the  men  it  is  usually  a  single  zigzag  blue  line  across 

the  forehead. 

The  pigment  used  is  charcoal. 
The  men  are  generally  erect  and  of   good    figure,  with 

good  chests  and  rather  heavy  shoulders,  the  legs  often  a 

little  bowed.     Strange  to  say  I  never  saw  one  who  walked 

"pigeon-toed."    All  turned  the  toes  out   like  white  men. 

The  hands  are  often  small  and  almost  always  well-shaped; 

and   the   feet  of   good  shape,  too,  not  over  large,  with  a 

well-arched  instep. 

Emory  and    his   comrades    found  the  Pimas  wearing  a 

kind  of  breech-cloth  and  a  cotton  scrape  only  for  garments; 


56  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

the  women  wearing  only  a  scraps  tied  around  the  waist 
and  falling  to  the  knee,  being  otherwise  nude.  Today  the 
average  male  Pima  dresses  like  a  white  workman,  in  hat, 
shirt,  trousers  and  perhaps  shoes,  and  his  wife  or  daughter 
wears  a  single  print  gown,  rather  loose  at  the  waist  and 
ruffled  at  the  bottom,  which  reaches  only  to  the  ankles. 
Both  sexes  are  commonly  barefooted,  but  the  old  san 
dals,  once  universal,  are  still  often  seen.  These  gah-kai- 
gey-aht-kum-soosk,  or  string-shoes,  as  the  word  means, 
were  made  in  several  different  ways,  and  often  projected 
somewhat  around  the  foot  as  a  protection  against  the  fre 
quent  and  formidable  thorns  of  the  country. 

Sometimes  a  wilder  or  older  Indian  will  be  seen,  even 
now,  with  only  a  breech-cloth  on,  and  some  apology  for 
a  garment  on  his  shoulders. 

The  skin  is  often  of  a  very  beautiful  rich  red-bronze 
tint,  or  perhaps  more  like  old  mahogany. 

Except  the  tattooing  both  sexes  are  remarkable  for  their 
almost  entire  absense  of  any  marked  adornment  or  orna 
ment  of  person.  Even  a  finger-ring,  or  a  ribbon  on  the 
hair,  is  not  common,  and  the  profuse  bead-work  and  em 
broidery  of  the  other  tribes  is  never  seen. 

The  exceedingly  thick  and  intensely  black  hair  was 
formerly  worn  very  long,  even  to  the  waist,  being  banged 
off  just  over  the  eyes  of  the  women  and  over  the  eyes 
and  ears  of  the  men  and  allowed  to  hang  perfectly  loose. 
But  the  women  seldom  wore  as  long  hair  as  the  men. 
This  long  hair  is  still  sometimes  seen  and  is  exceedingly 
picturesque,  especially  on  horseback,  and  it  is  a  great 
pity  so  sightly  a  fashion  should  ever  die  out.  I  have  seen 
Maricopas  roll  theirs  in  ringlets.  Sometimes  the  men 
braided  the  hair  into  a  cue,  or  looped  up  the  ends  with 
a  fillet.  But  the  Government  discourages  long  and  loose 
hair,  and  now  most  men  cut  it  short,  and  women  part 
theirs  and  braid  it.  Like  all  Indians,  the  men  have  scant 
beards,  and  the  few  whiskers  that  grow  are  shaved  clean 
or  resolutely  pinched  off  with  an  old  knife  or  pulled  out 
by  tweezers. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   57 

Their  hair  appears  to  turn  gray  as  early  as  ours,  tho 
I  saw  no  baldness  except  on  one  individual.  In  old  times 
(and  even  now  to  some  extent)  the  hair  was  dressed  with 
a  mixture  of  mud  and  mezquite  gum,  at  times,  which  was 
left  on  long  enough  for  the  desired  effect  and  then  thoroly 
washed  off.  This  cleansed  it  and  made  it  glossy  and  the 
gum  dyed  the  gray  hair  quite  a  lasting,  jet  black,  tho 
several  applications  might  be  needed. 

Women  still  carry  their  ollas  and  other  burdens  on  their 
heads  and  are  exceedingly  strong  and  expert  in  the  art, 
balancing  great  and  awkward  weights  with  admirable  dex 
terity. 

The  convenient  and  even  beautiful  gyih-haw  (a  word 
very  difficult  to  pronounce  correctly),  or  burden  basket, 
of  the  old  time  Pima  woman,  seems  to  have  entirely  dis 
appeared.  It  was  not  only  picturesque,  but  an  exceed 
ingly  useful  utensil. 

The  wawl-kote,  or  carrying-cradle  for  the  baby,  is  ob 
solete,  too,  now.  Strange  to  say,  tho  in  shape  like  most 
pappoose-cradles,  it  was  carried  poised  on  the  head,  in 
stead  of  slung  on  the  back  in  the  usual  way. 

The  Pimas  are  fond  of  conversation  and  often  come  to 
gether  in  the  evening  and  have  long  talks.  Their  voices 
are  low,  rapid,  soft  and  very  pleasant  and  they  laugh, 
smile  and  joke  a  great  deal.  They  are  remarkable  for 
calmness  and  evenness  of  temper  and  the  expression  of 
the  face  is  nearly  always  intelligent,  frank,  and  good- 
natured. 

They  are  noticeably  devoid  of  hurry,  worry,  irritability 
or  nervousness. 

Unlike  most  Indians  these  have  not  been  removed  from 
the  soil  of  their  fathers  and,  indeed,  such  an  act  would 
have  been  cruelly  unjust,  for,  true  to  their  name,  the 
Pimas  have  maintained  an  unbroken  peace  with  the  whites. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  W.  H.  Emory,  of  "The  Army  of  the 
West,"  who  visited  them  in  1846,  was  perhaps  the  first 
American  to  observe  and  describe  these  people.  He  says: 
"Both  nations  (Pimas  and  Maricopas)  cherished  an  aver 
sion  to  war  and  a  profound  attachment  to  all  the  peace- 


58  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

ful  pursuits  of  life.  This  predilection  arose  from  no  in 
capacity  for  war,  for  they  were  at  all  times  able  and  wil 
ling  to  keep  the  Apaches,  whose  hands  are  raised  against 
all  other  people,  at  a  respectful  distance,  and  prevent  de 
predations  by  those  mountain  robbers  who  held  Chihua 
hua,  Sonora  and  a  part  of  Durango  in  a  condition  ap 
proaching  almost  to  tributary  provinces." 

As  observed  by  Emory  and  the  other  officers  of  the 
"Army  of  the  West"  they  were  an  agricultural  people 
raising  at  that  time  "cotton,  wheat,  maize,  beans,  pump 
kins  and  water  melons."  I  found  them  raising  all  these 
in  1903,  except  cotton,  and  I  think  he  might  have  added 
to  his  list,  peppers,  gourds,  tobacco  and  the  pea  called 
-cah-lay-vahs. 

Emory  says:  "We  were  at  once  impressed  with  the 
beauty,  order,  and  disposition  of  the  arrangements  made 
for  irrigating  the  land  .  .  .  the  fields  are  subdivided  by 
ridges  of  earth  into  rectangles  of  about  200x100  feet,  for 
the  convenience  of  irrigating.  The  fences  are  of  sticks, 
matted  with  willow  and  mezquite."  I  found  this  still  com 
paratively  correct.  The  fields  are  still  irrigated  by  ace- 
quias  or  ditches  from  the  Gila,  and  still  fenced  by  forks 
of  trees  set  closely  in  the  ground  and  reinforced  with 
branches  of  thorn  or  barbed  wire.  Some  of  these  fences 
with  their  antler-like  effect  of  tops  are  very  picturesque. 

From  the  description  given  by  Emdry,  and  Captain  A. 
R.  Johnson  of  the  same  army,  of  their  kees  or  winter 
lodges,  they  were  essentially  the  same  as  I  found  some 
of  them  still  inhabiting.  There  is  the  following  entry  in 
my  journal:  "I  have  been  examining  the  old  kee  next 
door,  since  the  old  couple  left  it.  It  is  quite  neatly  and 
systematically  made.  Four  large  forks  are  set  in  the 
ground,  and  these  support  a  square  of  large  poles,  covered 
with  other  poles,  arrow-weeds,  chaff  and  earth,  for  the 
roof.  The  walls  are  a  neat  arrangement  of  small  saplings, 
about  10  inches  apart  curving  up  from  the  ground  on  a 
bending  slant  to  the  roof,  so  that  the  whole  structure 
comes  to  resemble  a  turtle-shell  or  rather  an  inverted 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   5£ 

bowl.  These  side  sticks  arc  connected  by  three  lines  of 
smaller  sticks  tied  across  them  with  withes,  all  the  way 
around  the  kee.  Against  these  arrow-weeds  are  stood, 
closely  and  neatly,  tops  down  (perhaps  thatched  on)  and 
kept  in  place  by  three  more  lines  of  small  sticks,  bound 
on  and  corresponding  to  those  within.  Then  the  whole 
structure  is  plastered  over  with  adobe  mud  till  rain-proof. 
No  window,  and  only  one  small  door,  about  2£  feet 
square,  closed  by  a  slat-work." 

This  kee  of  the  Pima  was  not  to  his  credit.  The  most 
friendly  must  admit  it  dirty,  uncomfortable  and  unpictur- 
esque.  It  was  too  low  to  stand  erect  in,  the  little  fire 
was  made  in  the  center,  the  smoke  escaping  at  last  from 
the  low  doorway  after  trying  everywhere  else  and  .fes 
tooning  the  ceiling  with  soot. 

The  establishment  of  the  Pima  was  most  simple.  He 
sat,  ate  and  slept  on  the  earth,  consequently  a  few  mats 
and  blankets,  baskets,  bowls  and  pots  included  his  furni 
ture.  A  large  earthen  olla,  called  by  the  Pimas  hah-ah, 
stood  in  a  triple  fork  under  the  shade  of  the  vachtoe 
and  being  porous  enough  to  permit  a  slight  evaporation 
kept  the  drinking  water  cool. 

The  arbor-shed  or  vachtoe  pertains  to  almost  every 
Pjman  home  and  consists  of  a  flat  roof  of  poles  and  ar 
row-weeds  supported  by  stout  forks.  Sometimes  earth  is 
added  to  the  roof  to  keep  off  rain.  Sometimes  the  sides 
are  enclosed  with  a  rude  wattle  work  of  weeds  and  bushes, 
making  a  grateful  shade,  admitting  air  freely;  screening 
those  within  from  view,  while  permitting  vision  from  with 
in  outward  in  any  direction.  Sometimes  this  screen  of 
weeds  and  bushes,  in  a  circular  form,  was  made  without 
any  roof  and  was  then  called  an  o-num.  Sometimes  after 
the  vachtoe  had  been  inclosed  with  wattle  work  the 
whole  structure  was  plastered  over  with  adobe  mud  and 
then  became  a  caws-seen,  or  storehouse.  All  these  struc 
tures  were  used  at  times  as  habitations,  but  now  the 
Pima  is  coming  more  and  more  to  the  white  man's 
adobe  cottage  as  a  house  and  home.  But  the  vachtoe, 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


attached  or  detached,  is  still  a  feature  of  almost  every 
homestead. 

Under  the  vachtoe  usually  stood  the  matate,  or  mill 
(called  by  the  Pimas  mah-choot)  which  was  a  large  flat 
or  concave  stone,  below,  across  which  was  rubbed  an 
oblong,  narrow  stone  (vee-it-kote),  above,  to  grind  the 
corn  or  wheat.  Other  important  utensils  were  a  vatchee- 
ho,  or  wooden  trough,  for  mixing,  and  a  chee-o-pah,  or 
mortar,  of  wood  or  stone,  for  crushing  things  with  a  pestle. 
The  nah-dah-kote,  or  fire-place,  was  an  affair  of  stones 
and  adobe  mud  to  support  the  earthern  pots  for  cooking 
or  to  support  the  earthern  plates  on  which  the  thin  cakes 
of  corn  or  wheat  meal  were  baked.  These  were  what  the 
Mexicans  call  tortillas.  Perhaps  the  staple  food  of  the 
Pima  even  more  than  corn  (hohn)  or  wheat  (payl-koon) 
is  frijole  beans— these  of  two  kinds,  the  white  (bah-fih) 
the  brown  (mohn).  A  sort  of  meal  made  of  parched  corn 
or  wheat;  ground  on  the  mahchoot  and  eaten,  or  perhaps 
one  might  say  drank,  with  water  and  brown  sugar  (pano- 
che)  was  the  famous  pinole,  the  food  carried  on  war  trips 
when  nutrition,  lightness  of  weight  and  smallness  of  bulk 
were  all  desired.  It  has  a  remarkable  power  to  cool  and 
quench  thirst.  Taw-mahls,  or  corn-cakes  of  ground  green 
corn,  wrapped  in  husks  and  roasted  in  the  ashes,  or  boiled, 
were  also  favorites.  Peppers  (kaw-aw-kull)  were  a  good 
deal  used  for  seasoning  and  relishes. 

Today  the  country  of  the  Pima  is  very  destitute  of  large 
game  but  he  adds  to  the  above  bill  of  fare  all  the  small 
game,  especially  rabbits,  quail  and  doves,  that  he  can 
kill.  In  the  old  days  when  the  Gila  always  had  water  it 
held  fine  fish  and  the  Indians  caught  them  with  their 
hands  or  swept  them  up  on  the  banks  by  long  chains  of 
willow  hurdles  or  faggots,  carried  around  the  fish  by 
waders.  I  could  not  learn  that  they  ever  had  any  true 
fish-nets  or  fish-hooks  ;  nor  any  rafts,  canoes  or  other 
boats.  But  owing  to  the  frequent  necessity  of  crossing 
the  treacherous  Gila  the  men,  and  many  of  the  women, 
were  good  swimmers. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     61 

The  Toe-hawn-awh  Aw-aw-tam,  or  Papagoes,  whose  re 
servation  is  in  Pima  County,  near  Tucson  (and  called 
St.  Xavier)  are  counted  "blood  brothers"  of  the  Pimas, 
speak  essentially  the  same  language,  are  on  the  most 
cordial  terms  with  them,  and  are  under  the  same  agency. 

The  Maricopas  are  a  refugee  tribe,  related  to  the  Yumas, 
who  once  threatened  them  with  extermination  because  of 
an  inter-tribal  feud.  They  were  adopted  by  the  Pimas 
and  protected  by  them,  and  have  ever  since  lived  with 
them  as  one  people,  having  however  a  different  language, 
identical  with  that  of  the  Yumas. 

The  Quojatas  are  a  small  tribe,  of  the  Piman  stock, 
living  south  of  the  Casa  Grande. 

The  total  number  of  Pimas,  Papagoes  and  Maricopas 
in  the  U.  S.  is  now  estimated  at  about  8000,  the  Pimas 
alone  as  4000. 

I  am  not  a  linguist,  or  a  philologist,  and  my  time  was 
short  with  these  people,  and  I  did  not  go  to  any  extent 
into  their  language,  or  study  its  grammar.  Their  voices 
were  soft  and  pleasant,  and  I  was  continually  surprised 
at  the  low  tones  in  which  they  generally  conversed  and 
the  quickness  with  which  they  heard.  But  their  words 
were  most  awkward  to  my  tongue.  There  were  German 
sounds,  and  French  sounds,  too,  I  would  say,  in  their 
language,  and  there  were  letters  that  seemed  to  disappear 
as  they  uttered  them,  or  never  to  come  really  forth,  and 
syllables  that  were  swallowed  like  spoonfuls  of  hot  soup. 

But  I  trust  that  I  am  substantially  correct  in  the  words 
that  I  have  retained  in  the  stories  and  that  I  have  writ 
ten  them  so  that  the  English  reader  can  pronounce  them 
in  a  way  to  be  understood. 

The  accent  is  generally  on  the  first  syllable. 


THE  STORY  OF  AH-AHN-HE-EAT-TOE-PAHK 
MAHKAI 


A  K 


was  an  orphan  named  Ah-ahn- 
he-eat-toe-pahk  Mahkai  (which  means 
Braided-  Feather  Doctor)  who  lived  at 
a  place  called  Two  Reservoirs  (Go-awk- 
Vahp-itchee-kee)  north  of  Cheoff-Skaw- 
mack,  or  Tall  Gray  Mountain. 

And  his  only  relative  was  an  old  grandmother. 
And  she  used  to  go  and  get  water  in  earthern 
vessels,  a  number  of  them  in  her  carrying  basket. 
And  when  she  neared  home  she  would  call  to  her 
grandson,  saying:  "Come,  help  me  wrestle  with 
it!"  meaning  to  help  her  down  with  her  load. 
And  he  would  jump  and  run,  and  wrestle  so 
roughly  he  would  break  all  the  vessels  in  her 
basket. 

And  thus  was  he  mean  and  mischievous,  a  bad 
boy  in  many  ways.  And  one  day  his  grandmother 
sent  him  to  get  some  of  the  vegetable  called  "owl's- 
feathers,"  which  the  Awawtam  cook  by  making 
it  into  a  sort  of  tortilla,  baked  on  the  hot  ground 
where  a  fire  has  just  been.  And  he  went  and 
found  an  owl  and  pulled  its  feathers  out  &  brought 
them  to  the  old  woman,  and  she  said:  "This  is 
not  what  I  want!  It  is  a  vegetable  that  I  mean!" 
And  so  he  went  off  again  and  got  the  vegetable 
owl's-feathers  for  her. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     63 

After  that  she  sent  him  for  the  vegetables  named 
"crow's-feet"  and  "blackbird's-eyes,"  saying  to 
him  that  they  were  very  good  cooked  together. 
And  the  mischievous  orphan  went  &  got  the  feet 
of  some  real  crows  and  the  eyes  of  real  black 
birds  and  brought  them  to  her.  And  she  said : 
"This  is  not  what  I  mean!  I  want  the  vegetables 
named  after  these  things!" 

And  the  boy,  who  was  then  about  twelve  years 
old,  went  and  got  what  she  wanted  and  she  cooked 
them. 

And  this  orphan  boy  had  a  dream  which  he 
liked  and  wished  to  have  come  true,  and  went  to 
a  dance  that  was  being  danced  in  the  neighbor 
hood,  a  ceremonial  dance  such  as  is  celebrated 
when  a  young  girl  arrives  at  womanhood,  and  he 
went  to  see  it,  hoping  it  would  in  some  way  be  like 
his  dream,  but  when  he  saw  it  he  was  disgusted. 

And  he  went  to  hear  the  song  of  a  singing  doc 
tor,  a  mahkai  or  medicine-man,  but  when  he  heard 
his  singing  he  was  disgusted  with  that  too. 

And  he  left  his  home  and  on  his  way  found  a 
little  house,  or  kee,  made  of  rough  bushes.  And 
the  one  who  lived  therein  invited  him  to  stay 
awhile  and  see  all  the  different  people  who  would 
arrive  there. 

And  he  did  so,  and  in  the  early  evening  they 
came  —  all  the  fiercest  animals,  cougars,  bears, 
eagles,  and  they  were  bewitching  each  other,  but 
nobody  bewitched  him,  and  in  the  morning  he 
went  on. 


64  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  he  went  along  until  he  Came  to  another 
kee,  and  the  owner  invited  him  to  stay  over  night 
and  see  all  the  people  who  came  there.  And  he 
did  so,  and  in  the  early  evening  came  the  same 
creatures  and  did  the  same  as  before,  but  he  was 
not  bewitched. 

And  he  went  on  again  till  he  came  to  a  desert 
place,  utterly  barren,  without  trees  or  bushes  and 
there  a  wind  came  to  meet  him,  a  whirlwind,  Seev- 
a-lick,  and  it  caught  him  up  and  carried  him  to 
the  East  &  then  back  again;  and  to  the  North  and 
back  again;  and  to  the  West  &  back  again;  and  then 
South  &  back  again.  And  so  it  got  possession  of 
his  soul  and  carried  it  off  to  its  own  place. 

And  Seevalick,  the  whirlwind,  said  to  him:  "You 
shall  be  like  me." 

And  there  his  dream  came  true  and  he  said: 
"This  is  what  I  was  looking  for;  this  it  is  for 
which  I  was  travelling." 

And  he  wished  to  go  back,  and  the  wind  took 
his  soul  back  again  into  his  body,  and  so  he  re 
turned  to  his  home. 

And  after  his  return  he  was  the  best  young  man 
In  the  country,  kind  to  everybody,  and  everybody 
liked  him.  But  he  did  not  care  to  be  with  boys 
of  his  own  age,  but  liked  better  to  be  with  the 
wise  old  men,  and  went  where  they  came  together 
at  nights.  And  he  would  sit  and  listen  to  them, 
but  did  not  attempt  to  make  any  speeches  him 
self.  His  reasons  were  that  the  young  were  often 
vicious,  thieves,  beggars,  murderers,  and  he  would 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    65 

rather  be  with  the  old  who  followed  what  was 
better. 

And  in  the  evening  he  would  often  hear  the 
the  old  people  say:  "We  will  go  rabbit-hunting 
in  such  a  place,"  but  he  stayed  at  home  and  did 
not  go  with  them. 

But  one  night,  after  a  while,  when  they  said: 
"Tomorrow  we  will  go  jack-rabbit  hunting,"  he 
went  home  as  they  did,  but  the  next  morning, 
when  they  went  hunting,  he  went  and  made  him 
self  a  bow  &  arrows,  as  Seevalick  had  told  him 
and  placed  them  where  he  could  find  them. 

And  the  next  evening  they  were  talking  again 
of  hunting,  and  appointed  a  place  to  meet,  and 
the  following  morning,  when  they  were  getting 
ready,  he  got  his  bows  &  arrows,  but  he  did  not 
come  quite  up  to  the  meeting  place,  but  sat  a 
little  way  off. 

And  as  he  sat  there  the  people  came  up  to  him 
and  made  fun  of  him  and  asked  him  if  he  ex 
pected  to  kill  anything  with  his  weapons,  for  he 
had  made  a  big  bow  &  arrows  as  the  Whirlwind 
had  done.  And  the  people  handed  these  about 
among  themselves,  laughing,  and  when  they  were 
thru  ridiculing  them  they  brought  back  the  bow 
and  arrows  and  laid  them  down  before  him.  But 
he  said  nothing,  and  when  the  people  were  thru 
he  left  the  bow  &  arrows  there,  and  went  home 
and  went  again  to  look  for  a  suitable  stick  to 
make  a  bow  from. 

And  he  made  a  new  bow  &  arrows  and  left 
them  where  he  could  find  them,  and  went  home. 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


And  again  he  went  in  the  evening  to  the  old 
people's  gathering  and  heard  them  appoint  a  place 
for  the  hunting,  and  went  home  when  they  did. 
And  in  the  morning,  when  he  heard  the  signal 
cry  for  hunting,  he  went  and  got  his  bow  &  ar 
rows  and  followed  after  them  again,  but  again 
stayed  some  distance  off.  And  again  the  people 
came  about  him  and  handled  his  bow  &  arrrows 
and  laughed  at  them.  And  again  he  left  them  ly 
ing  there  on  the  ground  and  went  home  to  make 
a  new  bow  &  arrows. 

And  the  fourth  time  this  happened  he  was  late 
at  the  place  of  meeting,  and  before  he  came  the 
one  at  whose  house  the  meeting  was  said  to  the 
others:  "There  is  a  young  man  who  has  been 
several  times  with  us  to  the  place  where  we  come 
together  for  the  hunting,  and  I  suppose  he  has 
made  a  new  bow  &  arrows  today,  for  he  has  to 
do  that  whenever  you  handle  his  weapons.  Now 
I  want  you  not  to  handle  his  weapons  any  more, 
but  to  let  him  be  till  we  see  what  he  will  do,  for 
it  appears  to  me  that  he  is  some  kind  of  a  pow 
erful  personage  (mahkai). 

And  Toehahvs,  who  was  listening,  said :  "You 
yourself,  were  the  very  first  to  handle  his  weap- 
ons." 

And  the  next  morning  when  Ahahnheeattoe- 
pahk  Mahkai  heard  the  signal  yells  for  the  hunt 
ing,  he  went  to  the  meeting  place,  with  his  bow 
and  arrows,  and  sat  away  off,  as  before,  but  this 
time  nobody  came  to  him. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    67 

And  then  the  hunting  began,  and  in  it  some 
one  called  to  him :  "There  is  a  jack-rabbit  (choo- 
uff)  coming  your  way!'*  and  he  shot  the  rabbit 
with  his  arrow;  but  when  he  came  to  it  he  did 
not  pick  it  up,  but  grasped  the  arrow  and  with 
a  swinging  motion  threw  the  rabbit  from  it  to 
the  man  nearest  him. 

And  thus  he  went  on  all  day,  killing  rabbits  and 
giving  them  to  others,  keeping  none  for  himself. 

And  again  he  was  late  at  the  place  of  meeting, 
and  the  man  who  had  spoken  the  night  before 
said:  "Now  you  see  what  he  has  done!  This  is 
the  fourth  bow  that  he  has  made.  If  you  people 
had  left  him  alone  before,  he  would,  before  this, 
have  been  killing  game  for  you.  And  now  if  you 
do  not  disturb  him  I  am  sure  he  will  go  on,  and 
you  will  have  jack-rabbits  to  eat  all  the  time." 

And  so  he  killed  rabbits  at  every  hunt,  and 
gave  them  away,  especially  to  the  old.  Whenever 
he  killed  one  he  would  pick  it  up  and  give  it  to 
an  old  man,  and  keep  on  that  way. 

And  one  night  at  the  place  of  meeting  the 
spokesman  said:  "Tomorrow  we  will  surround 
the  mountain  and  hunt  deer,  and  we  will  put  him 
at  the  place  where  the  deer  will  run,  and  we  will 
see  how  many  he  will  kill!" 

And  in  the  morning,  at  the  mountain,  they 
placed  him  at  the  deer-run,  and  told  him  to  "shut 
the  valley,"  meaning  for  him  to  head-off  and  kill 
any  deer  which  might  run  toward  him.  But  the 
young  man  began  to  get  big  rocks  and  try  to  make 


Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


a  wall  to  close  the  valley  up,  and  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  the  deer  running  past  him,  and  when  the 
people  came  and  asked  him  about  his  shooting 
he  said:  "  You  did  not  tell  me  to  kill  the  deer, 
you  told  me  to  'shut  the  valley.'  " 

(Not  but  what  he  understood  them,  but  he  was 
acting  again  as  he  had  once  done  with  his  grand 
mother.) 

And  the  next  day  they  tried  another  mountain 
and  said:  "We  will  see  if  the  young  man  will 
kill  us  any  deer  there."  So  when  they  came  to 
this  mountain  they  told  him  to  go  to  a  certain 
valley,  on  the  other  side,  and  hang  himself  there. 
This  is  a  form  of  speech  which  means  to  hang 
around  or  remain  at  a  place;  but  the  young  hun 
ter  went  there  and  left  his  bow  &  arrows  on  the 
ground,  and  hung  himself  up  by  his  two  hands 
clasped  around  the  limb  of  a  tree. 

And  after  they  had  chased  many  deer  in  his 
direction  they  said :  "Let  us  go  now  &  butcher-up 
the  deer  the  young  man  has  killed,  for  he  must 
have  killed  a  good  many  by  this  time." 

But  when  they  came  to  where  the  young  man 
was,  there  he  hung  by  his  hands,  and  when  they 
asked  him  how  many  he  had  killed,  he  said:  "I 
have  not  killed  any.  You  did  not  tell  me  to  kill 
any,  only  to  hang  myself  here,  which  I  did,  and 
I  have  hung  here  and  watched  the  deer  running 
past." 

And  they  tried  him  again,  on  another  morning, 
at  another  valley,  and  this  time  they  told  him  if 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      69 

he  saw  a  doe  big  with  fawn,  "snon-ham"  which 
is  also  the  word  used  for  a  woman  soon  to  be 
come  a  mother,  he  should  kill  her.  And  he  went 
to  his  place,  and  there  came  by  such  a  woman 
and  he  shot  her  down  and  killed  her. 

And  the  next  day  they  took  him  to  another 
mountain  and  told  him  to  kill  the  "/rur/y,"  which 
means  the  old,  but  they  meant  him  to  understand 
old  deer.  And  when  they  came  to  him  later  to 
butcher-up  the  deer  he  had  killed,  and  asked  him 
where  they  were,  he  replied:  "I  have  not  killed 
any  deer,  you  did  not  tell  me  to  kill  deer,  but  to 
kill  the  kurly,  and  there  is  the  kurly  I  have  killed!" 

And  it  was  the  old  man  who  goes  ahead  whom 
he  had  shot  with  his  arrow. 

And  after  they  had  buried  the  old  man  they 
returned  to  the  village,  and  that  night  the  man 
who  owned  the  meeting  place  said:  "Tomorrow 
we  must  give  him  another  trial,  and  this  time  I 
want  you  to  tell  him  straight  just  what  you  want. 
Tell  him  to  kill  the  deer,  either  young  or  old,  and 
he  will  do  it.  If  you  had  done  this  before  he 
would  have  killed  us  many  deer.  You  should  have 
understood  him  better  by  this  time,  but  you  did 
not  tell  him  straight,  and  now  he  has  killed  two 
of  us." 

And  the  next  morning  they  took  him  to  another 
mountain,  and  placed  him  in  a  low  place,  and  told 
him  to  kill  all  the  deer  which  came  his  way.  And 
when  they  went  after  a  while,  after  chasing  many 
deer  toward  him,  they  asked  him  where  the  deer 


70  Aw-aw-tam     Indian  Nights 

were  which  he  had  killed,  and  he  replied:  ''Down 
in  the  low  place  you  will  find  plenty  deer." 
And  they  went  there  and  found  many  dead  deer 
of  all  kinds,  and  butchered  them  up. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      71 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF 
AH-AHN-HE-EAT-TOE-PAHK  MAHKAI 

In  the  story  of  Ah-ahn-he-eat-toe-pahk  Mahkai  we  are 
introduced  to  the  Indian  faith  in  dreams  and  to  more 
witchcraft.  We  come,  too,  to  the  national  sport  of  rabbit- 
hunting,  with  its  picturesqueness  and  excitement. 

In  the  transaction  between  Seevalick  and  the  boy  we 
have  a  reappearance  of  the  world-wide  belief  that  there 
is  a  connection  between  the  wind  and  the  human  soul. 

The  strange  quality  of  savage  humor,  labored,  some 
times  gruesome,  and  often  tragic,  appears  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  tale. 

It  is  noticeable  that  they  buried  the  old  man,  but  no 
mention  is  made  of  burying  the  woman  who  was  shot. 
The  Pimas  of  old  time  buried  their  dead  in  a  sitting  pos 
ture,  neck  and  knees  tied  together  with  ropes,  four  to  six 
feet  under  ground,  and  covered  the  grave  with  logs  and 
thorn-brush  to  keep  away  wolves.  The  interment  was 
usually  at  night,  with  chants,  but  without  other  ceremony. 
Then,  immediately  after,  the  house  of  the  deceased  was 
burned,  and  all  personal  effects  destroyed,  even  food;  the 
horses  and  cattle  being  killed  and  eaten  by  the  mourners, 
excepting  such  as  the  deceased  might  have  given  to  his 
heirs.  After  the  prescribed  time  of  mourning  (one  month 
for  a  child  or  distant  relative,  six  months  or  a  year  for 
husband  or  wife)  the  name  of  the  dead  was  never  more 
mentioned  and  everything  about  him  treated  as  forgotten. 

The  Maricopas  burn  their  dead. 

It  is  noticeable,  too,  that  no  one  appears  to  have  pun 
ished  the  slayer  for  his  murderous  practical  jokes.  In 
deed,  while  the  Awtwtam  appear  to  have  been  people  of 
exceptionally  good  character,  it  also  appears  that  they 
seldom  punished  any  crimes  except  by  a  sort  of  boycott 
or  pressure  of  public  disapproval. 


THE  STORY  OF  VANDAIH,  THE  MAN-EAGLE 


ND  thus  Ahahnheteatoepahk  Mahkai  be 
came  famous  for  the  killing  of  game;  and 
there  was  another  young  man,  named 
Van-daih)  who  wanted  to  be  his  friend, 
So  one  day  Vandaih  made  him  four  tube- 
pipes  of  cane,  such  as  the  Indians  use 
for  ceremonious  smoking,  and  went  to  see  the 
young  hunter.  But  when  he  entered  the  young 
man  was  lying  down,  and  he  just  looked  at 
Vandaih  and  then  turned  his  face  away,  saying 
nothing, 

And  Vandaih  sat  there  and  when  the  young 
man  became  tired  of  lying  one  way  and  turned 
over  he  lit  up  one  of  his  pipes.  But  the  young 
man  took  no  notice  of  him.  And  this  went  on 
all  night.  Every  time  there  was  a  chance  Van 
daih  tried  his  pipe,  but  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai 
never  spoke,  and  in  the  morning  Vandaih  went 
away  without  the  friend  he  desired  having  re 
sponded  to  him. 

The  next  evening  Vandaih  came  again  and  sat 
there  all  night,  but  the  friend  he  courted  never 
said  a  word,  and  in  the  morning  he  went  away 
again. 

And  he  slept  in  the  daytime,  and  when  even 
ing  came  he  went  again,  and  sat  all  night  long, 
but  the  young  man  spoke  to  him  not  at  all. 

And  the  third  morning  that  this  happened  the 
wife  of  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  said  to  him: 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    73 

"Why  are  you  so  mean  to  Vandaih  as  never  to 
speak  to  him?  Perhaps  he  has  something  im 
portant  to  say.  He  comes  here  every  night,  and 
sits  the  whole  night  thru  before  you,  and  you 
do  not  speak  to  him.  And  maybe  he  will  come 
tonight  again,  and  I  feel  very  sorry  for  him  tnat 
you  never  say  a  word  to  him  when  he  comes." 

And  the  young  man  said:  "I  know  it  is  true, 
what  you  have  said,  but  I  know,  too,  very  well, 
that  Vandaih  is  not  a  good  man.  He  gambles 
with  the  gains-skoot,  he  is  a  liar,  a  thief,  licen 
tious,  and  is  everything  that  is  bad.  I  wish  some 
other  boys  would  come  to  see  me  instead  of  him, 
and  better  than  he,  for  I  know  very  well  that  he 
will  repeat  things  that  I  say  in  a  way  that  I  did 
not  mean  and  raise  a  scandal  about  it." 

And  the  next  night  Vandaih  came  again  and 
sat  in  the  same  place;  and  when  Ahahnheeattoe- 
pahk  Mahkai  saw  him  he  just  looked  at  him  and 
then  turned  over  and  went  to  sleep.  But  along 
in  the  night  he  awoke,  and  when  Vandaih  saw 
he  was  awake  he  lit  one  of  his  pipes.  Then  Ah- 
ahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  got  up.  And  when  he 
got  up  Vandaih  buried  his  pipe,  but  the  other 
said :  "What  do  you  bury  your  pipe  for?  I  want 
to  smoke." 

Vandaih  said:  "I  have  another  pipe,"  and  he* 
lit  one  and  gave  it  to  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai, 
and  then  he  dug  up  own  pipe,  and  relighted  it, 
and  they  both  began  to  smoke. 

And  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  said:  "When 


74  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

did  you  come?"  And  Vandaih  replied:  "O  just 
a  little  while  ago." 

And  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  said:  "I  have 
seen  you  here  for  four  nights,  now,  but  I  know 
you  too  well  not  to  know  you  have  a  way  to  fol 
low,"  ["a  way  to  follow"  means  to  have  some  pur 
pose  behind]  "but  if  you  will  quit  all  the  bad  habits 
you  have  I  will  be  glad  to  have  you  come;  but 
there  are  many  others,  better  than  you,  whom  I 
would  rather  have  come  to  see  me. 

And  now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  something,  but 
I  am  afraid  that  when  you  go  away  from  here 
you  will  tell  what  I  have  said  and  make  more  of 
it,  and  then  people  will  talk,  and  I  shall  be  sorry. 

I  will  tell  you  the  habits  you  have — you  are  a 
liar,  a  gambler  with  the  dice-game  and  the  wah- 
pah-tee,  a  beggar,  you  follow  after  women  and 
are  a  thief. 

Now  I  want  you  to  stop  these  bad  habits.  You 
may  not  know  all  that  the  people  say  about  you: 
They  say  that  when  any  hunter  brings  in  game 
you  are  always  the  first  to  be  there,  and  you  will 
be  very  apt  to  swallow  charcoal*  if  you  are  so 
greedy. 

Wherever  you  go,  when  the  people  see  you 
coming,  they  say:  'There  comes  a  man  who  is  a 
thief,'  and  they  hide  their  precious  things.  When 
you  arrive  they  are  kind  to  you,  of  course,  but 
they  do  not  care  much  about  you. 

*"To  swallow  charcotl"  implies  the  swallowing  of  meat 
so  greedily  it  is  not  properly  cleansed  of  the  ashes  of  its 
roasting. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    75 

I  don't  know  whether  you  know  that  people 
talk  thus  about  you,  but  it  is  a  great  shame  to 
me  to  know,  when  I  have  done  some  bad  thing, 
that  people  talk  about  it. 

Now  if  you  quit  these  things  you  will  be  hap 
py,  and  I  want  you  to  stop  them.  I  am  not  angry 
with  you,  but  I  want  you  to  know  how  the  peo 
ple  are  talking  about  you. 

Now  I  want  you  to  go  home,  but  not  say  any 
thing  about  what  I  have  told  you.  Just  take  a 
rest,  and  tomorrow  night  come  again." 

And  the  next  night  Vandaih  came  again,  and 
Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  was  in  bed  when  he 
came,  but  he  got  right  up  and  received  him,  and 
said :  "Now  after  this  I  mean  to  tell  you  what  is 
for  your  good,  but  I  want  you  to  keep  quiet 
about  it.  There  are  many  people  that  gamble 
with  you.  If  they  ask  you  again  to  gamble  with 
them,  do  not  do  it.  Tell  them  you  do  not  gamble 
any  more.  And  if  they  do  not  stop  when  you 
tell  them  this,  but  keep  on  asking  you,  come  to 
me,  and  tell  me,  first,  that  you  are  going  to  play. 
And  if  I  tell  you,  then,  that  I  do  not  want  you 
to  gamble,  I  want  you  not  to  do  it,  but  if  I  tell 
you  you  may  gamble  &  you  win  once,  then  you 
may  bet  again,  but  I  do  not  want  you  to  keep  on 
after  winning  twice.  Twice  is  enough.  But  if 
the  other  man  beats  you  at  first,  then  I  do  not 
want  you  to  play  any  more,  but  to  quit  gambling 
forever." 

And  after  this  a  man  did  want  to  gamble  with 


76  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

Vandaih,  but  Vandaih  said :  "I  have  nothing  to 
wager,  and  so  cannot  play  with  you.'* 

And  still  another  man  wanted  to  gamble  with 
him,  and  he  made  him  the  same  answer,  but  this 
man  kept  on  asking,  and  at  last  Vandaih  said : 
"Perhaps  I  will  play  with  you,  I  will  see  about 
it.  But  I  must  have  a  little  time  first."  And  he 
came  to  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  and  said: 
"There  is  a  man  who  keeps  on  asking  me  to 
gemble  with  him,  and  I  have  come  to  tell  you 
about  it  as  you  told  me  to  do." 

And  Anahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  told  him  to 
gamble,  and  gave  him  things  to  wager  on  the 
game,  but  said:  "If  he  beats  you  I  do  not  want 
you  to  gamble  any  more." 

And  Vandaih  took  the  things  which  had  been 
given  him,  and  went  &  played  a  game  with  this 
man  who  was  so  persistent,  and  won  a  game. 
And  he  played  another  game  and  won  that,  and 
then  he  said,  "That  is  enough,  I  do  not  want  to 
play  any  more;"  but  the  other  man  kept  on  ask 
ing  him  to  play. 

But  Vandaih  refused  &  took  the  things  which 
he  had  won  to  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  and 
gave  them  all  to  him. 

And  the  next  morning  he  gambled  again,  and 
won  twice,  and  he  stopped  after  the  second  win 
ning,  as  before. 

And  thus  the  young  man  kept  on  winning  and 
Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  made  gainskoot  (dice- 
sticks)  for  him,  and  this  was  one  reason  why  he 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     77 

won,  for  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai  was  a  pow 
erful  doctor  &  the  dice  were  charmed. 

And  he  beat  every  one  who  played  against  him 
till  he  had  beat  all  the  gamblers  of  his  neighbor 
hood,  and  then  distant  gamblers  came  &  he  beat 
them  also.  And  so  he  won  all  the  precious  things 
that  were  in  the  country  and  gave  all  to  Ahahn 
heeattoepahk  Mahkai  &  kept  nothing  back.  But 
one  man  went  to  Ee-ee-toy,  who  was  living  at  the 
Salt  River  Mountain  (Mo-hah-dheck)  and  asked 
him  to  let  him  have  some  things  to  wager  against 
Vandaih.  And  Ee-ee-toy  said :  "You  can  have 
whatever  you  want,  and  I  will  go  along  to  see 
the  game." 

But  when  Ee-ee-toy  got  there  he  found  the  dice 
were  not  like  common  dice,  and  it  would  be  dif 
ficult  for  any  one  to  win  against  them,  they  were 
made  by  so  powerful  a  man. 

And  Ee-eetoy  went  westward  and  found  a  pow 
erful  doctor  who  had  a  daughter,  and  said  to  the 
father:  "I  want  your  daughter  to  go  around  to 
all  the  big  trees  and  find  me  all  the  feathers  she 
can  of  large  birds,  not  of  small  birds,  and  bring 
them  here.  And  I  will  come  again  &  see  what 
she  may  have  found." 

And  her  father  told  her,  and  the  very  next 
morning  she  began  to  hunt  the  feathers,  and  when 
Ee-eetoy  came  again  she  had  a  bundle,  and  Ee- 
eetoy  took  them  and  took  the  pith  out  of  their 
shafts  and  cleansed  every  feather  which  she  had 
brought  him. 


78  Aw-aw~tam      Indian  Nights 

And  Ee-ee-toy  threw  away  the  pith  and  cut  the 
shafts  into  small  pieces  and  told  the  girl  to  roast 
them  in  a  broken  pot  over  a  fire;  and  she  got 
the  broken  pot  &  roasted  them,  and  they  curled 
up  as  they  roasted  till  they  looked  like  grains  of 
corn.  And  then  he  told  her  to  roast  some  real 
corn  &  mix  both  together  and  grind  them  all  up 
very  fine,  And  Ee-ee-toy  told  her  to  take  some 
ollas  of  this  pinole  in  her  syih-haw  to  the  reser 
voirs. 

And  she  did  so,  and  passed  by  where  Vandaih 
was  going  to  play,  and  Vandaih  said:  "Before  I 
can  play  I  must  drink. "  But  the  man  who  was 
playing  with  him  said:  "Get  some  water  of  some 
one  near,"  but  Vandaih  said,  "I  would  rather  go 
to  the  reservoir," 

And  Ee-ee-toy  had  prepared  the  girl  before  this, 
telling  her  that  when  she  passed  the  players  Van 
daih  would  follow  her  to  the  reservoir  and  want 
to  marry  her.  "Be  polite  to  him,"  he  said  "and 
ask  him  to  drink  some  of  the  pinole,  and  to  see 
your  parents  first." 

And  the  man  who  was  going  to  gamble  with 
Vandaih  asked  him  not  to  go  so  far,  for  he  wanted 
to  gamble  right  away,  but  Vandaih  replied:  "I 
would  rather  go  there.  I  will  come  right  back. 
You  be  making  holes  till  I  get  back." 

So  the  girl  went  to  the  reservoir,  and  Vandaih 
followed  her  and  asked  her  to  be  his  wife,  and 
she  said:  "I  want  you  to  drink  some  of  this  pinole, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     79 

and  in  the  evening  you  may  go  and  see  my  folks 
and  ask  them  about  it." 

So  Vandaih  mixed  some  pinole  and  drank  it, 
and  it  made  him  feel  feverish,  like  one  with  a 
cold;  and  the  second  time  he  drank  the  goose- 
flesh  came  out  on  his  skin;  and  the  third  time 
he  drank  feathers  came  out  all  over  him;  and  the 
fourth  time  long  feathers  grew  out  on  his  arms; 
and  the  fifth  time  he  became  an  eagle  and  went 
and  perched  on  the  high  place,  or  bank  of  the 
reservoir. 

Then  the  girl  went  to  the  place  where  the  other 
man  was  waiting  to  play  the  game  and  told  all 
the  people  to  come  and  see  the  terrible  thing 
which  had  happened  to  Vandaih. 

And  the  people,  when  they  saw  him,  got  their 
bows  and  arrows  and  surrounded  him  and  were 
going  to  shoot  him. 

And  they  fired  arrows  at  him,  and  some  of  them 
struck  him,  but  could  not  pi6rce  him,  and  then 
all  were  afraid  of  him.  And  first  he  began  to 
hop  around,  and  then  to  fly  a  little  higher,  un 
til  he  perched  on  a  tree,  but  he  broke  the  tree 
down;  and  he  tried  another  tree  and  broke  that 
down;  and  then  he  flew  to  a  mountain  and  tumbled 
its  rocks  down  its  side,  and  finally  he  settled  on 
a  strong  cliff.  And  even  the  cliff  swayed  at  first 
as  if  it  would  fall,  —  but  finally  it  settled  and 
stood  still. 

And  this  was  foretold  when  the  earth  was  be 
ing  made,  that  one  of  the  race  of  men  should  be 


80  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

turned  into  an  eagle.  Vandaih  was  a  handsome 
man,  but  he  had  a  bad  character,  and  ever  since 
the  beginning  parents  had  warned  their  children 
to  practice  virtue  lest  they  be  turned  into  eagles; 
because  it  had  been  foretold  that  some  good-look 
ing  bad  person  should  be  thus  transformed,  and 
it  was  to  be  seen  that  good-looking  people  were 
often  bad  and  homely  ones  good  characters. 

And  Vandaih  took  that  cliff  for  his  residence 
and  hunted  over  all  the  country  round  about, 
killing  jack-rabbits,  deer  and  all  kinds  of  game 
for  his  food.  And  when  the  game  became  scarce 
he  turned  to  men  and  one  day  he  killed  a  man 
and  took  the  body  to  his  cliff  to  eat.  And  after 
this  manner  he  went  on.  Early  in  the  morning 
he  would  bring  home  a  human  being,  and  some 
times  he  would  bring  home  two. 

Then  the  people  sent  a  messenger  to  Ee-eetoy, 
to  his  home  on  Mohahdheck,  asking  him  to  kill 
for  them  this  man-eagle.  And  Ee-ee-toy  said  to 
the  man:  "You  can  go  back,  and  in  about  four 
days  I  will  be  there."  But  when  the  fourth  day 
came  Ee-eetoy  had  not  arrived,  as  he  had  prom 
ised,  but  Vandaih  was  among  the  people,  killing 
them,  carrying  them  away  to  the  cliff. 

And  the  people  again  sent  the  messenger,  say 
ing  to  him:  "You  must  tell  Ee-ee-toy  he  must 
come  and  help  his  people  or  we  shall  all  be  lost." 

And  the  man  delivered  his  message  and  Ee- 
ee-toy  said,  as  before,  that  he  would  be  there  in 
four  days. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      81 

And  this  went  on,  the  people  sending  to  Ee- 
ee-toy,  and  Ee-ee-toy  promising  to  come  in  four 
days,  until  a  whole  year  had  passed.  And  not 
only  for  one  year,  but  for  four  years,  for  the 
people  had  misunderstood  him,  and  when  he  said 
four  days  he  meant  four  years,  and  so  for  four 
years  it  went  on  as  we  have  said. 

(Now  Ee-ee-toy  and  Vandaih  were  relatives,  and 
that  was  one  reason  why  Ee-ee-toy  kept  the  people 
waiting  so  long  for  his  help  and  worked  to  gain 
time.  He  did  not  want  to  hurt  Vandaih.) 

But  when  the  fourth  year  came  Ee-ee-toy  did 
go,  and  told  the  people  to  get  him  the  "seed- 
roaster." 

And  the  people  ran  around,  guessing  what  he 
meant,  and  they  brought  him  the  charcoal,  but 
Ee-ee-toy  said:  "I  did  not  mean  this,  I  meant 
the  'seed-roaster'!" 

So  they  ran  around  again,  and  they  brought 
him  the  long  open  earthen  vessel  with  handles  at 
each  end,  used  for  roasting,  and  with  it  they 
brought  the  charcoal  which  is  made  from  iron- 
wood.  But  he  said:  "I  did  not  mean  these.  I 
mean  the  'seed-roaster.' " 

And  they  kept  on  guessing,  and  nobody  could 
guess  it  right.  They  brought  him  the  black  stones 
of  the  nahdahcote,  or  fire  place,  and  he  said:  "I 
do  not  want  these.  I  want  the  'seed-roaster. '" 

And  the  people  kept  on  guessing,  and  could  not 
guess  it  right,  and  so,  at  last,  he  told  them  that 
what  he  wanted  was  obsidian,  that  black  volcanic 


82  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

stone,  like  glass,  from   which   arrow   heads   are 
made.     And  this  was  what   he  called  the  "seed- 


roaster." 


So  the  people  got  it  for  him. 
Then  he  told  them  to  bring  him  four  springy 
sticks.     And  they  ran  and  brought  all  the  kinds 
of    springy   sticks   they  could   find,  but  he  told 
them  he  did  not  mean  any  of  these. 

And  for  many  days  they  kept  on  trying  to  get 
him  the  sticks  which  he  wanted.  And  after  they 
had  completely  failed  Ee-ee-toy  told  them  what 
he  wanted.  It  was  a  kind  of  stick  called  vahs-iff^ 
which  did  not  grow  there,  therefore  they  had  not 
been  able  to  find  it.  And  beside  vahsiff  sticks 
were  not  springy  sticks  at  all,  but  the  strongest 
kind  of  sticks,  very  stiff. 

So  they  sent  a  person  to  get  these,  who  brought 
them,  and  Ee-ee-toy  whittled  them  so  that  they 
had  sharp  points.  And  there  were  four  of  them. 
And  Ee-ee-toy  said:  "Now  I  am  going,  and  I 
want  you  to  watch  the  top  of  the  highest  moun 
tain,  and  if  you  see  a  big  cloud  over  it,  you  will 
know  I  have  done  something  wonderful.  But  if 
there  is  a  fog  over  the  world  for  four  days  you 
will  know  I  am  killed." 

When  he  started  he  allowed  one  of  the  dust 
storms  of  the  desert  to  arise,  and  went  in  that, 
so  that  the  man-eagle  should  not  see  him. 

For  many  days  he  journeyed  toward  the  cliff, 
and  when  sunset  of  the  last  day  came  he  was  still 
a  good  way  off;  but  he  went  on  and  arrived  at 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas      83 

the  foot  of  the   cliff  after  it  was  dark,  and  hid 
himself  there  under  a  rock. 

About  daybreak  the  man-eagle  got  up  and  flew 
around  the  cliff  four  times  and  then  flew  off. 
And  after  he  was  gone  Ee-ee-toy  took  one  of  his 
sticks  and  stuck  it  into  a  crack  in  the  cliff,  and 
climbed  on  it,  and  stuck  another  above  it  and  so 
he  went  on  to  the  top,  pulling  out  the  sticks  be 
hind  him  and  putting  them  in  above. 

And  when  he  got  to  the  home  of  the  man-eagle, 
Vandaih,  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  he  found  a  woman 
there.  And  she  was  the  same  woman  who  had 
given  Vandaih  the  pinole  with  eagles'  feathers  in 
it.  He  had  found  her,  and  carried  her  up  there, 
and  made  her  his  wife. 

When  Ee-ee-toy  came  to  the  woman  he  found 
she  had  a  little  boy,  and  he  asked  her  if  the  child 
could  speak  yet,  and  she  replied  that  he  was  just 
beginning  to  talk;  and  he  enquired  further  when 
the  man-eagle  would  return,  and  she  said  that  for 
merly  when  game  was  plenty  he  had  not  stayed 
away  long,  but  now  that  game  was  scarce  it  usu 
ally  took  him  about  half  a  day,  so  he  likely  would 
not  be  there  till  noon. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  enquired:  "What  does  he  do 
when  he  comes  back?  Does  he  sleep  or  not? 
Does  he  lie  right  down,  or  does  he  go  looking 
around  first?" 

And  the  wife  said:  "He  looks  all  around  first, 
everywhere.  And  even  the  little  flies  he  will  kill, 
he  is  so  afraid  that  some  one  will  come  to  kill 


84  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

him.  And  after  he  has  looked  around,  and  fin 
ished  eating,  he  comes  to  lay  his  head  in  my  lap 
and  have  me  look  for  the  lice  in  his  head.  And 
it  is  then  that  he  goes  to  sleep. " 

So  Ee-ee-toy  turned  into  a  big  fly  and  hid  in 
a  crack  in  the  rock,  and  asked  the  moman  if  she 
could  see  him,  and  the  said:  "Yes,  I  can  see  you 
very  plainly." 

And  he  hid  himself  three  times,  and  each  time 
she  could  see  him,  but  the  fourth  time  he  got  into 
one  of  the  dead  bodies,  into  its  lungs,  and  had 
her  pile  the  other  dead  bodies  over  him,  and  then 
when  he  asked  her  she  said:  "No,  I  cannot  see 
you  now." 

And  Ee-ee-toy  told  her:  "As  soon  as  he  goes 
to  sleep,  whistle,  so  that  I  may  know  that  he  is 
surely  asleep." 

At  noon  Ee-ee-toy  heard  the  man-eagle  coming. 
He  was  bringing  two  bodies,  still  living  &  moan 
ing,  and  dropped  them  over  the  place  where  Ee- 
ee-toy  lay.  And  the  first  thing  the  man-eagle  did 
was  to  look  all  around,  and  he  said  to  his  wife: 
"What  smell  is  this  that  I  smell?"  And  she  said: 
"What  kind  of  a  smell?"  And  he  replied:  "Why, 
it  smells  like  an  uncooked  person!"  "These  you 
have  just  brought  in  are  uncooked  persons,  per 
haps  it  is  these  you  smell." 

Then  Vandaih  went  to  the  pile  of  dead  bodies 
and  turned  them  over  &  over,  but  the  oldest  body 
at  the  bottom  he  did  not  examine,  for  he  did  not 
think  there  could  be  anyone  there. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   85 

So  his  wife  cooked  his  dinner,  and  he  ate  it 
and  then  asked  her  to  look  for  the  lice  in  his 
head.  And  as  he  lay  down  he  saw  a  fly  pass 
before  his  face,  and  he  jumped  up  to  catch  it, 
but  the  fly  got  into  a  crack  in  the  rock  where 
he  could  not  get  it. 

And  when  he  lay  down  again  the  child  said: 
"Father!  come!"  And  Vandaih  said:  "Why  does 
he  say  that?  He  never  said  that  before.  He  must 
be  trying  to  tell  me  that  some  one  is  coming  to 
injure  me!"  But  the  wife  said :  "You  know  he 
is  only  learning  to  talk,  and  what  he  means  is 
that  he  is  glad  that  his  father  has  come.  That  is 
very  plain."  But  Vandaih  said:  "No,  I  think  he 
is  trying  te  tell  me  some  one  has  come." 

But  at  last  Vandaih  lay  down  and  the  woman 
searched  his  head  and  sang  to  put  him  to  sleep. 
And  when  he  seemed  sound  asleep  she  whistled. 
And  her  whistle  waked  him  up  and  he  said:  "Why 
did  you  whistle!  you  never  did  that  before?"  And 
she  said:  "I  whistled  because  I  am  so  glad  about 
the  game  you  have  brought.  I  used  to  feel  bad 
about  the  people  you  killed,  but  now  I  know  I 
must  be  contented  &  rejoice  when  you  have  a  good 
hunt.  And  after  this  I  will  whistle  every  time 
when  you  bring  game  home." 

And  she  sang  him  to  sleep  again,  and  whistled 
when  he  slept;  and  waked  him  up  again,  and  said 
the  same  thing  again  in  reply  to  his  question. 

And  the  third  time,  while  she  was  singing,  she 
turned  Vandaih's  head  from  side  to  side.  And 


86  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

when  he  seemed  fast  asleep  she  whistled.  And 
after  she  had  whistled  she  turned  the  head  again, 
but  Vandaih  did  not  get  up,  and  so  she  knew 
that  this  time  he  was  fast  asleep. 

So  Ee-ee-toy  came  out  of  the  dead  body  he  had 
hidden  in,  and  came  to  where  Vandaih  was,  and 
the  woman  laid  his  head  down  &  left  him.  And 
Ee-ee-toy  took  the  knife  which  he  had  made  from 
the  volcanic  glass,  obsidian,  and  cut  Vandaih's 
throat,  and  beheaded  him,  and  threw  his  head 
eastward  &  his  body  westward.  And  he  beheaded 
the  child,  too,  and  threw  its  head  westward  and 
its  body  eastward. 

And  because  of  the  killing  of  so  powerful  a 
personage  the  cliff  swayed  as  if  it  would  fall  down, 
but  Ee-ee-toy  took  one  of  his  sharpened  stakes  and 
drove  it  into  the  cliff  and  told  the  woman  to  hold 
onto  that;  and  he  took  another  and  drove  that  in 
and  took  hold  of  that  himself. 

And  after  the  cliff  had  steadied  enuf,  Ee-ee-toy 
told  the  woman  to  heat  some  water,  and  when  she 
had  done  so  he  sprinkled  the  dead  bodies. 

The  first  ones  he  sprinkled  came  to  life  and  he 
asked  them  where  there  home  was  &  when  they 
told  him  he  sent  them  there  by  his  power. 

And  he  had  more  water  heated  and  sprinkled 
more  bodies,  and  when  he  learned  where  their 
home  was  he  sent  them  home,  also,  by  his  power. 

And  this  was  done  a  third  time,  with  a  third 
set  of  bodies. 

And  the  forth  time  the  hot  water  was  sprinkled 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   87 

on  the  oldest  bodies  of  all,  the  mere  skeletons., 
and  it  took  them  a  long  time  to  come  to  life,  and 
when  they  were  revived  they  could  not  remember 
where  their  homes  were  or  where  they  had  come 
from.  So  Ee-ee-toy  cut  off  eagles' feathers  slant 
ing-wise  (pens)  and  gave  them,  and  gave  them 
dried  blood  mixed  with  water  (ink)  and  told  them 
their  home  should  be  in  the  East,  and  by  the  sign 
of  the  slanting-cut  feather  they  should  know  each 
other.  And  they  are  the  white  people  of  this  day. 
And  he  sent  them  eastward  by  his  power. 

And  in  the  evening  he  &  the  woman  went  down 
the  cliff  by  the  aid  of  the  sharpened  stakes,  even 
as  he  had  come  up,  and  when  they  reached  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  they  stayed  there  over  night. 
They  took  some  of  the  long  eagle  feathers  and 
made  a  kee  from  them,  &  some  of  the  soft  eagle 
feathers  and  made  a  bed  with  them.  And  they 
stayed  there  four  nights,  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff. 
And  after  a  day's  journey  they  made  another 
kee  of  shorter  eagle  feathers,  and  a  bed  of  tail 
feathers.  And  they  staid  at  this  second  camp  four 
nights. 

And  then  they  journeyed  on  again  another  day 
and  build  another  kee,  like  the  first  one,  &  stayed 
there  also  four  nights. 

And  they  journeyed  on  yet  another  day  and 
built  again  a  kee,  like  the  second  one,  and  stayed 
there  four~nights. 

And  on  the  morning  of  each  fourth  day  Ee-ee- 
toy  took  the  bath  of  purification,  as  the  Pimas 


88  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

have  since  done  when  they  have  slain  Apaches, 
and  when  he  arrived  home  he  did  not  go  right 
among  the  people  but  stayed  out  in  the  bushes 
for  a  while. 

And  the  people  knew  he  had  killed  Vandaih, 
the  man-eagle,  for  they  had  watched  and  had  seen 
the  cloud  over  the  high  mountain. 

And  after  the  killing  of  Vandaih,  for  a  long 
time,  the  people  had  nothing  to  be  afraid  of,  and 
they  were  all  happy. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     89 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  VANDAIH 

In  the  story  of  Vandaih  we  are  given  a  curious  glimpse 
into  Indian  friendship.  The  reference  to  smoking,  too,  is 
interesting.  The  Pimas  had  no  true  pipes.  They  used 
only  cigarettes  of  tobacco  and  corn-husk,  or  else  short 
tubes  of  cane  stuffed  with  tobacco.  These  I  have  called 
tube-pipes.  They  smoked  on  all  ceremonial  occasions, 
but  appear  to  have  had  no  distinctive  pipe  of  peace.  The 
ceremonial  pipes  of  cane  had  bunches  of  little  birds' 
feathers  tied  to  them,  and  in  my  photo  of  the  old  seenee- 
yawkum  he  holds  such  a  ceremonial  pipe  in  his  hand. 

"He  gambles  with  the  gain-skoot:"  The  gain-skoot  were 
the  Pima  dice  —  two  sticks  so  marked  and  painted  as  to 
represent  the  numerals  kee-ick  (four)  and  choat-puh  (six), 
and  two  called  respectively  see-ick-ko,  the  value  of  which 
was  fourteen,  and  gains,  the  value  of  which  was  fifteen. 
These  were  to  be  held  in  the  hand  and  knocked  in  the 
air  with  a  flat  round  stone.  At  the  same  time  there  was 
to  be  on  the  ground  a  paralellogram  of  holes  with  a  sort 
of  goal,  or  "home,"  at  two  corners.  If  the  sticks  all  fell 
with  face  sides  up  they  counted  five,  If  all  fell  with 
blank  sides  up  it  was  ten.  If  only  one  face  side  turned 
up  it  counted  its  full  value,  but  if  two  or  three  turned 
up  then  they  counted  only  as  one  each.  If  a  gain  was 
scored  the  count  was  kept  by  placing  little  sticks  or  stones 
(soy-yee-kuh)  in  the  holes  as  counters.  If  the  second 
player  overtook  the  first  in  a  hole  the  first  man  was 
"killed"  and  had  to  begin  over.  Among  all  Indians  gam 
bling  was  a  besetting  vice,  and  there  was  nothing  they 
would  not  wager. 

Sometimes  instead  of  the  gain-skoot  they  used  waw- 
pah-tee,  which  was  simply  a  guessing  game.  They  guessed 
in  which  hand  a  certain  painted  stick  was  held,  or  in 
which  of  four  decorated  cane-tubes,  filled  with  sand,  a 
certain  little  ball  was  hidden  and  wagered  on  their  guess. 
These  tubes  were  differently  marked,  and  one  was  named 
"Old  Man,"  one  "Old  Woman,"  one  "Black  Head,"  and 


90  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

one  "Black  in  the  Middle."  Sticks  were  given  to  keep 
count  of  winnings. 

The  moral  advice  which  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai 
gives  Vandaih,  is  very  quaint,  and  the  shrewd  cunning 
with  which  he  loads  the  dice,  pockets  the  proceeds,  and 
yet  finally  unloads  all  the  blame  on  poor  Vandaih,  is  quite 
of  a  piece  with  the  confused  morals  of  most  folk-lore  in 
all  lands.  On  these  points  it  is  really  very  hard  to  un 
derstand  the  workings  of  the  primitive  mind.  Here  is 
certain  proof  that  the  moderu  conscience  has  evoluted 
from  something  very  chaotic* 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Vandaih  drinks  the  pinole,  which 
bewitches  him,  five  times  instead  of  the  usual  four. 
Whether  this  is  a  mistake  of  the  seeneeyawkum,  or 
significant  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  four  is  a  lucky  and 
five  an  unlucky  number, 

Another  variation  in  the  numerical  order  is  in  the  wom 
an  whistling  only  three  times,  in  putting  Vandaih  to  sleep. 

As  I  have  before  pointed  out  the  reference  to  white 
men,  and  pens  and  ink,  is  evidently  a  modern  interpola 
tion,  not  altogether  lacking  in  flavor  of  sarcasm. 

There  are  suggestions  in  this  story  of  Jack  the  Giant 
Killer,  of  the  Roc  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  of  the  harpies,, 
and  of  the  frightful  creatures,  part  human,  part  animal, 
so  familiar  in  all  ancient  folk-lore. 

The  latter  part  of  this  tale  is  particularly  interesting,  as 
perhaps  throwing  light  on  the  origin  of  that  mysterious 
process  of  purification  for  slaying  enemies,  so  peculiar  to 
the  Pimts. 

It  seems  to  have  been  held  by  the  Awawtam  that  to 
kill  an  Apache  rendered  the  slayer  unclean,  even  tho  the 
act  itself  was  most  valiant  and  praiseworthy,  and  must  be 
expiated  by  an  elaborate  process  of  purification.  From 
old  Comalk  Hawk  Kih  I  got  a  careful  description  of  the 
process. 

According  to  his  account,  as  soon  as  an  Apache  had 
been  killed,  if  possible,  the  fact  was  at  once  telegraphed 
to  the  watchers  at  home  by  the  smoke  signal  from  some 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas     91 

mountain.  This  custom  is  evidently  referred  to  in  E-ee- 
toy's  cloud  over  a  high  mountain  as  a  signal  of  success. 
The  Indians  apparently  regarded  smoke  and  clouds  as 
closely  related,  if  not  the  same,  as  is  shown  in  their  faith 
in  the  power  of  tobacco  to  make  rain. 

As  soon  as  the  Apache  has  been  killed  the  slayer  be 
gins  to  fast  and  to  look  for  a  "father."  His  "father"  is 
one  who  is  to  perform  all  his  usual  duties  for  him,  for 
he  is  now  unclean  and  cannot  do  these  himself.  The 
"father,"  too,  must  know  how  to  perform  all  the  cere 
monial  duties  necessary  to  his  office,  as  will  be  explained. 
If  a  "father"  can  be  found  among  the  war-party  the  slayer 
need  only  fast  two  days,  but  if  not  he  must  wait  till  he 
gets  home  again,  even  if  it  takes  four  or  more  days.  It 
appears  that  this  friend,  who  has  charge  of  the  slayer,  is 
humorously  called  a  "father"  because  his  "child"  is  usu 
ally  so  restless  under  his  long  fast,  and  keeps  asking  him 
to  do  things  for  him  and  divert  him. 

If  there  is  no  "father"  for  him  in  the  war-party,  as  soon 
as  possible  a  messenger  is  sent  on  ahead  to  get  some  one 
at  home  to  take  the  office  for  him,  and  to  make  the  fires 
in  the  kee,  that  being  a  man's  special  duty.  And  the  wife 
of  the  slayer  is  also  now  unclean  by  his  act,  and  must 
purify  herself  as  long  as  he,  tho  she  must  keep  apart  from 
him.  And  she  also  must  have  a  substitute  to  do  her  us 
ual  work.  She  must  keep  close  at  home,  and  her  husband, 
the  slayer,  remain  out  in  the  bushes  till  the  purification 
is  accomplished. 

For  two  days  the  fast  is  complete,  but  on  the  morning 
of  the  third  day  the  slayer  is  allowed  one  drink  of  pinole, 
very  thin,  and  no  more  than  he  can  drink  at  one  breath. 
The  moment  he  pauses  he  can  have  no  more  at  that  time. 

When  presenting  this  pinole,  the  "father"  makes  this 
speech: 

"Your  fame  has  come,  and  I  was  overjoyed,  and  have 
run  all  the  way  to  the  ocean,  and  back  again,  bringing 
you  this  water. 

On  my  return  I  strengthened  myself  four  times,  and  in 


92  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

the  dish  in  which  I  carried  the  water  stood  See-vick-a 
Way-hohm,  The  Red  Thunder  Person,  the  Lightning,  and 
because  of  his  force  I  fell  down. 

And  when  I  got  up  I  smelled  the  water  in  the  dish, 
and  it  smelled  as  if  something  had  been  burned  in  it. 

And  when  I  got  up  I  strengthened  myself  four  times, 
and  there  came  from  the  sky,  and  stood  in  the  dish,  Tone- 
dum  Bah-ahk  The  Eagje  of  Light.  And  he  turned  the 
water  in  the  dish  in  a  circle,  and  because  of  his  force  I 
fell  down,  and  when  I  rose  up  again  and  smelled  the  water 
in  the  dish  it  was  stinking. 

And  when  I  had  started  again  I  strengthened  myself 
four  times,  and  Vee-sick  the  Chicken  Hawk,  came  down 
fromthe  sky  and  stood  in  the  dish.  And  by  his  force  I 
was  thrown  down.  And  when  I  stood  again  and  smelled 
the  water  in  the  dish,  it  smelled  like  fresh  blood. 

And  I  started  again,  strengthening  myself  four  times, 
and  there  came  from  the  East  our  gray  cousin,  Skaw-mack 
Tee-worm-gall,  The  Coyote,  who  threw  me  down  again, 
and  stood  in  the  dish,  and  turned  the  water  around,  and 
left  it  smelling  as  the  coyote  smells. 

And  when  I  rose  up  I  started  again,  and  in  coming  to 
you  I  have  rested  four  times;  and  now  I  have  brought 
you  the  water,  and  so  mauy  powerful  beings  have  done 
wonderful  things  to  it  that  I  want  you  to  drink  it  all  at 
one  time." 

After  the  third  day  the  "father"  brings  his  charge  a  little 
to  eat  every  morning  and  evening,  but  a  very  little. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  at  daybreak  the 
slayer  takes  a  bath  of  purification,  even  -if  it  is  winter 
and  he  has  to  break  the  ice  and  dive  under  to  do  it.  And 
this  is  repeated  on  the  morning  of  each  fourth  day,  till 
four  baths  have  been  taken  in  sixteen  days, 

The  slayer  finds  an  owl  and  without  killing  him  pulls 
long  feathers  out  of  his  wings  and  takes  them  home.  The 
slayer  had  cut  a  little  lock  of  hair  from  the  head  of  the 
Apache  he  had  killed,  (for  in  old  times,  at  least,  the  Pi- 
mas  often  took  no  scalps)  and  now  a  little  bag  of  buck- 


\The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    93 

skin  is  made,  and  a  ball  of  grease-wood  gum  is  stuck  on 
the  end  of  this  lock  of  hair  which  is  placed  in  the  bag, 
and  on'  the  bag  are  tied  a  feather  of  the  owl  and  one  from 
a  chicken  hawk,  and  some  of  the  soft  feathers  of  an  eagle, 
and  around  the  neck  of  the  bag  a  string  of  blue  beads. 

(And  during  this  time  the  women  are  carrying  wood  in 
their  giyh-haws  to  the  dancing  place.) 

Now  the  Apaches  are  contemptuously  called  children, 
and  this  bag  represents  a  child,  being  supposed  to  con 
tain  the  ghost  of  the  dead  Apache,  and  the  slayer  sits  on 
the  ground  with  it,  and  takes  it  in  his  hands  as  if  it  were 
a  baby,  and  inhales  from  it  four  times  as  if  he  were  kiss 
ing  it.  And  when  it  is  time  for  the  dance  the  slayers 
who  are  a  good  ways  off  from  the  dancing  place  start  be 
fore  sunset,  but  those  who  are  close  wait  till  the  sun  is 
down.  And  the  "father"  goes  with  the  slayer,  through 
woods  and  bushes,  avoiding  roads.  And  before  this  the 
"father"  has  dug  a  hole  at  the  dancing  place  'about  ten 
inches  deep  and  two  feet  wide,  just  big  enough  for  a 'man 
to  squat  in  with  legs  folded,  and  behind  the  hole  planted 
a  mezquite  fork,  about  five  feet  high,  on  which  are  hung 
the  weapons  of  the  slayer,  his  shield,  club,  bow,  quiver 
of  arrows,  perhaps  his  gun  or  lance. 

(The  shield  was  made  of  raw  hide,  very  thick,  able  to 
turn  an  arrow  and  was  painted  jet  black  by  a  mixture 
of  mezquite  gum  and  charcoal,  with  water,  which  made  it 
glossy  and  shiny.  The  design  on  it  was  in  white,  or  red 
and  white.  The  handle  was  of  wood,  curved,  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  inside,  bound  down  at  the  ends  by  raw 
hide,  and  the  hand  fended  from  the  rough  shield  by  a 
piece  of  sheepskin.) 

In  this  hole  the  slayer  sits  down  and  behind  him  and 
the  fork  lies  down  his  dancer,  for  the  slayer  himself  does 
not  dance  but  some  stranger  who  represents  him  perhaps 
a  Papago  or  a  Maricopa,  drawn  from  a  distance  by  the 
fame  of  the  exploit.  Nor  do  the  slayers  sing,  but  old 
merTwho  in  their  day  have  slain  Apaches.  These  singers 


94  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

are  each  allowed  to  sing  two  songs  of  their  own  choice, 
the  rest  of  the  veterans  joining  in.  And  as  soon  as  the 
first  old  man  begins  to  sing,  the  dancers  get  up,  take  the 
weapons  of  the  men  they  represent,  and  dance  around  the 
fire,  which  the  "fathers"  keep  burning,  keeping  time  with 
the  song. 

And  the  women  cook  all  kinds  of  good  things,  and  set 
them  before  the  singers,  but  the  bystanders  jump  in  and 
snatch  them  away.  But  sometimes  the  wife  of  an  old 
singer  will  get  something  and  save  it  for  him. 

And  the  relatives  of  the  slayers  will  bring  presents  for 
the  dancers,  buckskin,  baskets,  and  anything  that  an  In 
dian  values.  And  as  soon  as  presented  some  relative  of 
the  dancer  runs  in  and  takes  the  present  and  keeps  it  for 
him. 

And  while  this  big  war-dance  is  going  on  the  rest  of 
the  people  are  having  dances  in  little  separate  groups,  all 
around.  And  as  soon  as  the  dance  is  over  the  weapons 
are  returned  to  the  forks  they  were  taken  from. 

By  this  time  it  is  nearly  morning,  and  the  slayers  get 
up  and  take  their  bath  in  the  river,  and  return  and  dry 
themselves  by  the  expiring  fire.  Then  returning,  to  the 
bushes  they  remain  there  again  four  days,  and  that  is  the 
last  of  their  purification. 

As  this  dance  is  on  the  eve  of  the  sixteenth  day,  there 
were  twenty  days  in  all. 

Grossmans  account  differs  considerably  from  this,  and 
is  worth  reading. 

During  the  time  of  purifying,  the  slayers  wear  their 
hair  in  a  strange  way,  like  the  top-knot  of  a  white  woman, 
somewhat,  and  in  it  stick  a  stick,  called  a  kuess-kote 
to  scratch  themselves  with,  as  they  are  not  allowed  to 
use  the  fingers.  This  is  alluded  to  in  the  Story  of  Paht- 
ahn-kum's  War.  A  picture  of  a  Maricopa  interpreter, 
with  his  hair  thus  arranged,  is  in  the  report  of  Col.  W. 
H.  Emory,  before  alluded  to.  This  picture  is  interesting, 
because  it  shows  that  the  Maricopas,  when  with  the  Pimas, 
odopted  the  same  custom.  When  I  showed  this  pictnre 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    95 

to  the  old  see-nee-yaw-kum  he  was  much  interested,  say 
ing  he  himself  had  known  this  man,  who  was  a  relative 
of  his,  there  being  a  dash  of  Maricopa  blood  in  his  fami 
ly,  and  that  he  had  been  born  in  Mexico  and  had  there 
learned  Spanish  enough  to  be  an  interpreter.  His  Mexi 
can  name,  he  said,  was  Francisco  Lucas,  but  the  Pimas 
called  him  How-app-ahl  Tone-um-kum,  or  Thirsty  Hawk, 
a  name  which  has  an  amusing  significance  when  we  re 
call  what  Emory  says  about  his  taste  for  aguardiente,  and 
that  Captain  Johnston  says  of  the  same  man,  "the  dog 
had  a  liquorish  tooth." 


STORIES  OF  THE  SECOND  NIGHT 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  TURQUOISES 
AND  THE  RED  BIRD 


mm 


ND  at  the  vahahkkee  which  the  white 
men  now  call  the  Casa  Grande  ruins 
was  the  home  of  Seeollstchewadack 
Seeven,  or  the  Morning  green  Chtef. 
And  one  morning  the  young  women  at 
that  place  were  playing  and  having  a  good 
time  with  the  game  of  the  knotted  rope  or  balls, 
which  is  calhd  toe-coll.  • 

And  in  this  game  the  young  g  rls  are  p'aced  at 
each  end,  near  the  goals,  and  at  this  time,  at  the 
west  end,  one  of  the  young  girls  gradually  sank 
into  the  earth;  and  as  she  sank  the  earth  around 
her  became  very  green  with  grass 

And  Sseollstchewadack  Seeven  told  the  people 
not  to  disturb  the  green  spot  until  the  next  morn 
ing;  and  the  next  morning  the  green  spot  was  a 
green  rock,  and  he  told  the  people  to  dig  around 
it,  and  as  they  dug  they  chipped  off  small  pieces, 
and  the  people  came  and  got  what  they  wanted 
of  these  pieces  of  green  stone.  And  they  made 
ear-rings  and  ornaments  from  these  green  stones, 
which  were  tchew-dack-na-ha-gay-awh  or  tur 
quoises. 

And  after  the  turquoises  were  distributed,  and 
the  fame  of  this  had  spread,  the  chief  of  another 
people,  who  lived  to  the  east,  whose  name  was 
Dthas  Seeven  (Sun-Chief)  thought  he  would  do 
something  wonderful,  too,  being  envious,  and  he 
opened  one  of  his  veins  and  from  the  blood  made 


100  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

a  large,  beautiful  bird,  colored  red. 

And  Dthas  Secven  told  his  bird  to  go  to  the 
city  of  Seeollstchewadack  Seeven  and  hang  a- 
round  there  till  that  chief  saw  him  and  took  him 
in.  And  when  they  offered  him  corn  he  was  not 
to  eat  that  nor  anything  else  they  gave  him,  but 
when  he  saw  his  chance  he  was  to  pick  up  a  bit 
of  the  green  stone  and  swallow  it,  for  when  it 
should  be  seen  that  he  would  swallow  the  green 
stones  then  he  would  be  fed  on  turquoises. 

So  the  bird  was  sent,  and  when  it  arrived  at 
the  city  of  the  turquoises  the  daughter  of  See 
ollstchewadack  Seeven,  whose  name  was  Naw 
itch)  saw  it  and  went  and  told  her  father.  And 
he  asked,  "What  is  the  color  of  the  bird?"  and 
she  answered,  "Red;"  and  he  said,  "I  know  that 
bird.  It  is  a  very  rare  bird,  and  its  being  here 
is  a  sign  something  good  is  going  to  happen.  I 
want  you  to  get  the  bird  and  bring  it  here,  but 
do  not  take  hold  of  it.  Offer  it  a  stick,  and  it 
will  take  hold  of  it,  with  its  bill,  and  you  can 
lead  it  here." 

And  Nawitch  offered  the  bird  a  stick,  and  it 
caught  hold  of  the  end  by  its  bill,  which  was  like 
a  parrot's  bill,  and  she  led  it  to  her  father. 

And  Seeollstchewadack  Seeven  said :  "Feed 
him  on  pumpkin  seed,  for  that  is  what  this  kind 
of  bird  eats," 

And  Nawitch  gave  the  bird  pumpkin  seed,  but 
it  would  not  eat.  And  then  she  tried  melon  seed, 
but  it  would  not  eat.  And  then  she  tried  devil- 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    101 

claw  seed,  but  it  would  not  eat.  And  her  father 
said,  then:  "Make  him  broth  of  corn,  for  this 
kind  of  bird  eats  only  new  dishes!"  And  she 
did  so,  but  it  would  not  eat  the  broth  of  corn. 

And  the  old  man  told  her  to  try  pumpkin  seed 
again;  and  she  tried  the  pumpkin  seed  again,  and 
the  melon  seed  again,  and  the  devil-claw  seed, 
and  the  broth  of  corn,  but  the  bird  would  not 
touch  any  of  these. 

But  just  then  the  bird  saw  a  little  piece  of  tur 
quoise  lying  on  the  ground  and  it  sprang  and 
swallowed  it.  And  the  daughter  saw  this  and  told 
her  father  that  the  bird  would  eat  turquoises.  And 
her  father  said:  "This  kind  of  bird  will  not  eat 
turquoises,  but  you  may  try  him."  And  she  gave 
it  some  turquoises  and  it  ate  them  greedily.  And 
then  her  father  said:  "Go  and  get  some  nice, 
clean  ones,  a  basket  full."  And  she  did  so,  and 
the  bird  ate  them  all,  and  she  kept  on  feeding  it 
until  it  had  swallowed  four  basketful. 

And  then  the  bird  began  to  run  around,  and 
the  girl  said:  "I  fear  our  pet  will  leave  .us  and 
fly  away"  but  the  old  man  said:  "He  will  not  fly 
away.  He  likes  us  too  well  for  that,"  but  after  a 
short  time  the  bird  got  to  a  tittle  distance  and 
took  to  its  wings,  and  flew  back  to  the  city  of 
Dthas  Seeven. 

And  Dthas  Seeven  gave  it  water  twice,  and 
each  time  it  vomited,  and  thus  it  threw  up  all 
the  turquoises. 

And  so  Dthas  Seeven  also  had  turquoises. 


102  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  THE  TURQUOISES 

Turquoises  seem  to  have  been  regarded  by  all  Arizona 
Indians  as  magical  and  lucky  stones,  and  the  Story  of  the 
Turqoises  professes  to  give  their  origin. 

Of  the  g-ime,  toe-coll,  here  spoken  of,  Whittembre  gives 
this  account  in  Cook's  "Among  the  Prmas:"  "One  of 
the  amusements  of  the  women  was  that  of  tossing  balls. 
They  had  two  small  ones,  covered  with  buckskin,  and  tied 
about  six  inches  apart.  Young  women  and  married,  from 
thirty  to  seventy-five  in  a  group,  assembled  as  dressed 
f  jr  a  ball,  their  hair  carefully  manipulated  so  as  to  be  black 
and  glossy.  Each  had  a  stick  of  willow  six  feet  long. 
With  these  they  dextrously  tossed  the  balls  high  in  the 
air,  running  after  them  until  one  party  was  so  weary  that 
they  gave  up  the  game  from  mere  exhaustion. 

In  order  to  make  the  excitement  a  success  they  had  cer 
tain  active  women,  keen  of  wit  and  quick  of  action,  practice 
weeks  in  advance." 

Sometimes  the  balls  were  formed  by  two  large  knots 
in  a  short  piece  of  rope. 


THE  STORY  OF  WAYHOHM,  TOEHAHVS 
AND  TOTTAI 


N  D  Seeollstchewadack  Seeven  won 
dered  what  this  action  of  the  bird  meant, 
and  he  studied  about  it  till  he  found  out 
who  it  was  that  had  sent  the  bird  and 
for  what  purpose. 

And  he  sent  a  cold  rain  upon  the  home  of 
Dthas  Seeven.  And  it  rained  a  heavy  rain  for 
three  days  and  three  nights,  so  hard  that  it  put 
out  all  the  fires  in  the  city  of  Dthas  Seeven,  and 
Dthas  Seeven  was  dying  with  cold. 

And  the  people  came  about  him  to  witness  his 
dying,  and  they  said:  "Let  us  send  some  one  to 
get  the  fire!"  And  they  sent  Toehahvs. 

And  Toehahvs  went,  and  at  last  came  to  a 
house  where  he  heard  the  fire  roaring  within. 
And  he  looked  in,  and  there  was  a  big  fire.  And 
he  sat  in  the  doorway  holding  out  his  paws  to 
ward  the  heat. 

And  the  owner  of  the  house,  whose  name  was 
Way-hohm^  or  the  Lightning,  sat  working  within 
with  his  face  to  the  fire  and  his  back  to  Toehahvs. 
And  Toehahvs  wanted  to  dash  in  and  steal  some 
fire,  but  he  did  not  dare,  and  he  went  back  and 
told  the  people  he  had  seen  the  fire  but  he  could 
not  get  it. 

On  the  fourth  day  it  was  still  raining,  and  they 
sent  another  person.  And  this  time  they  sent 
Tot-tal,  or  the  Road  Runner,  for  they  said  he 
could  run  almost  as  fast  as  Toehahvs. 


104  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  Tottai  came  to  the  same  house,  and  heard 
the  fire,  and  peeped  in  the  door  to  warm  him 
self.  And  there  sat  the  owner  of  the  fire,  Way- 
hohm,  working  with  his  face  to  the  fire  and  his 
back  to  Tottai.  And  Tottai  dashed  in  and  caught 
hold  of  a  stick  with  fire  at  one  end  and  ran  out 
with  it. 

And  Wayhohm  caught  up  his  bow,  the  Bow- 
of-the-Lightning,  Way-hohm-a-Gaht,  and  fired 
at  Road  Runner,  and  struck  him  on  the  side  of 
his  head,  and  that  is  why  the  side  of  Tottai's 
head  is  still  bare;  and  Tottai  ran  on,  and  Way 
hohm  shot  at  him  again  and  struck  the  other  side 
of  his  head. 

And  Tottai  whirled  around  then  so  that  the 
sparks  flew  every  way,  and  got  into  all  kinds  of 
wood,  and  that  is  why  there  is  fire  in  all  kinds 
of  sticks  even  now,  and  the  Indian  can  get  it  out 
by  rubbing  them  together  to  this  day. 

But  Tottai  kept  on,  and  got  to  the  house  of 
Dthas  Seeven  all  right,  and  they  made  a  fire,  and 
Dthas  Seeven  got  better  again. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    105 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  WAYHOHM 

There  is  a  suggestion  of  Thor  in  the  Story  of  Way- 
hohm,  and  also  of  Prometheus.  Wayhohm's  house  must 
have  been  the  hall  of  the  clouds. 

How  true  to  nature,  here,  is  the  touch  describing  the 
Coyote-person,  Toehahvs.  The  exessive  caution  of  the 
coyote,  making  it  impossible  for  him,  however  eager,  to 
force  himself  into  any  position  he  suspects,  here  stands 
out  before  us,  contrasted  in  the  most  dramatic  way  with 
the  dashing  boldness  ,of  the  road-runner. 

When  we  reached  the  end  of  this  story  Comalk  Hawk- 
Kih  took  two  pieces  of  wood  to  rub  them  together  to  make 
fire.  But  he  was  old  and  breathless,  and  "Sparkling-Soft- 
Feather,"  the  mother  of  my  interpreter,  took  them  and 
made  the  fire  for  me.  I  have  the  implements  yet. 

There  were  two  parts  to  the  apparatus.  Gee-uh-toe-dah, 
the  socket  stick  was  of  a  soft  dry  piece  of  giant  cactus 
rib,  and  a  notch  was  whittled  in  one  side  of  this  with  a 
small  socket  at  the  apex,  that  is  on  the  upper  side. 

This  was  placed  flat  on  the  ground,  with  a  bit  of  corn 
husk  under  the  notch,  and  held  firmly  in  position  by  the 
bare  feet.  The  twirling  stick,  eev-a-dah-kote,  was  a  hard 
arrow  weed,  very  dry  and  scraped  smooth.  The  end  of 
this  was  engaged  in  the  little  socket,  at  the  top  of  the 
cactus  rib,  and  then,  held  perpendicularly,  was  twirled 
between  the  two  hands  till  the  friction  rubbed  off  a  powder 
which  crowded  out  of  the  socket,  and  fell  down  the  notch 
at  its  side  to  the  corn-husk.  This  little  increasing  pile  of 
powder  was  the  tinder,  and,  as  the  twirling  continued,  grew 
black,  smelled  like  burned  wood,  smoked  and  finally 
glowed  like  punk.  It  was  now  picked  up  on  the  corn  husk 
and  placed  in  dry  horse  dung,  a  bunch  of  dry  grass,  or 
some  such  inflammable  material,  and  blown  into  flame. 

It  looked  very  simple,  and  took  little  time,  but  I  never 
could  do  it. 


THE  STORY  OF  HAWAWK 

ND  when  Dthas  Seeven  had  gotten  bet 
ter  he  meditated  on  what  had  happened 
him,  and  studied  out  that  Seeollstchew- 
adack-Seeven  was  the  cause  of  his  trou 
ble,  and  planned  how  to  get  the  better 
of  him. 

Now  the  Indians  have  a  game  of  football  in 
which  the  ball  is  not  kicked  but  lifted  and  thrown 
a  good  ways  by  the  foot,  and  Dthas  Seeven  made 
such  a  ball,  and  sent  a  young  man  to  play  it  in 
the  direction  of  the  city  of  Seeollstchewadack- 
Seeven.  And  the  young  man  did  so,  and  as  he 
kept  the  ball  going  on  it  came  to  the  feet  of  a 
young  girl,  who,  when  she  saw  the  ball,  picked 
it  up  and  hid  it  under  the  square  of  cloth  which 
Indian  girls  wear. 

And  the  young  man  came  up  and  asked  her  if 
she  had  seen  the  ball,  and  she  answered  no,  she 
had  not  seen  it,  ^nd  she  kept  on  denying  it,  so  at 
last  he  turned  back  and  said  he  might  as  well  go 
home  as  he  no  longer  had  a  ball  to  play  with.  But 
he  had  not  gone  far  before  the  girl  called  to  him: 
"Are  you  not  coming  back  to  get  your  ball?"  And 
he  went  back  to  her,  and  she  tried  to  find  the  ball, 
but  could  not. 

But  the  ball  was  not  lost,  but  it  had  bewitched 
her. 

And  after  a  time  this  girl  had  a  baby,  a  tall  baby, 
with  claws  on  its  hands  and  feet  like  a  wild  animal. 

And  the  people  did  not  know  what  this  meant, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    107 

and  they  asked  Toehahvs,  and  Toehahvs  knew 
because  this  had  been  prophesied  of  old  time. 
And  Toehahvs  said:  "She  is  Haw-awk." 

And  Hawawk  grew  and  became  able  to  crawl, 
but  people  were  afraid  of  handling  her  because  of 
the  scratching  of  her  claws.  Only  her  relatives 
could  safely  handle  her.  And  as  she  grew  older, 
still,  she  would  sometimes  see  other  children  and 
wish  to  play  with  them,  but  in  a  short  time  they 
would  get  scratched  by  her  in  her  gambols  and 
would  run  home  crying  and  leave  her  alone.  And 
it  got  so  that  when  the  children  saw  her  com 
ing  they  would  tell  each  other  and  run  home  and 
she  could  get  none  of  them  to  play  with  her. 

She  claimed  Ee-ee-toy  as  her  uncle,  and  when 
he  had  been  rabbit-hunting  and  came  in  with  game 
she  would  run  and  call  him  "uncle!"  and  try  and 
get  the  rabbits  away  from  him;  and  when  he  cleaned 
the  rabbits  and  threw  away  the  entrails  she  would 
run  and  devour  them,  and  the  bones  of  the  rabbits 
the  people  threw  away  after  the  feasts  she  would 
eat,  too. 

And  when  Hawawk  grew  older  she  would  some 
times  complain  to  Ee-ee-toy  if  he  icame  in  with 
out  game.  "Why  is  it  you  sometimes  come  in 
without  rabbits?"  she  would  say,  "And  why  do 
you  not  kill  a  great  many?"  And  he  would  re 
ply:  "It  is  not  possible  to  kill  a  great  many,  for 
they  run  very  fast  and  are  very  hard  to  shoot 
with  a  bow  and  arrow."  "Let  me  go  with  you," 
she  would  say,  "and  I  will  kill  a  great  many." 


108  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

But  he  would  tell  her:  "You  are  a  girl,  and  it  is 
not  your  place  to  go  hunting.  If  you  were  a  boy 
it  would  be,  but  as  it  is  you  cannot  go." 

And  she  kept  on  begging  in  this  way,  and  he 
kept  on  refusing,  she  saying  that  she  could  kill  a 
great  many,  and  he  saying  that  only  a  man  or  a 
boy  could  shoot  many  rabbits,  because  they  ran 
so  fast. 

But  as  she  grew  older  still  she  began  to  follow 
the  hunters,  and  when  the  hunting  began  she 
would  be  in  the  crowd,  but  she  tried  to  keep  out 
of  her  uncle's  way  so  that  he  would  not  see  her. 
And  sometimes  when  she  would  thus  be  following 
the  hunt  a  rabbit  would  run  in  her  direction,  and 
she  would  run  fast  and  jump  on  it  and  kill  it,  and 
eat  it  right  there;  and  after  a  while  she  could  do 
this  oftener  and  caught  a  good  many;  and  sshe 
would  eat  all  she  wanted  as  she  caught  them,  and 
the  others  she  gave  to  her  uncle,  Ee-ee-toy,  to 
carry  home.  And  Ee-ee-toy  came  to  like  to  have 
her  with  him  because  of  the  game  she  could  get. 
But  after  a  time  she  did  not  come  home  anymore, 
but  staid  out  in  the  bushes,  living  on  the  game 
she  could  get.  But  when  the  hunters  came  out, she 
would  still  join  them  and  after  killing  and  eating 
all  she  wanted  she  would  give  the  rest  of  her  kill 
to  her  uncle,  as  before. 

And  so  she  contrived  to  live  in  the  wild  places, 
like  a  wild-cat,  and  in  time  became  able  to  kill 
deer,  antelopes,  and  all  big  game,  and  yet  being 
part  human  she  would  tan  buckskin  like  a  woman 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    109 

and  do  all  that  a  woman  needs  to  do. 

And  she  found  a  cave  in  the  mountain  which 
is  called  Taht-kum,  where  she  lived,  and  that  cave 
can  be  seen  now  and  is  still  called  Hawawk's  Cave. 

But  she  had  been  born  near  where  the  ruins  oT 
Casa  Grande  now  are  and  claimed  that  vahahk- 
kee  for  her  own.  And  when  she  knew  a  baby 
had  been  born  there  she  would  go  to  the  mother 
and  say,  "I  want  to  see  my  grandchild,"  But  if 
the  mother  let  her  take  the  baby  she  would  put 
it  over  her  shoulder,  into  her  gyih-haw,  and  run 
to  her  cave,  and  put  the  baby  into  a  mortar,  and 
pound  it  up  and  eat  it.  And  she  got  all  the  babies 
she  could  in  this  way;  and  later  on  she  grew 
bolder  and  would,- find  the  larger  children,  where 
thy  were  at  play,  and  would  carry  them  off  to  eat 
them.  And  now  she  let  all  the  rabbits  and  such 
game  go,  and  lived  only  on  the  children  she  caught, 
for  a  long  time. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  told  the  people  what  to  do  in  this 
great  trouble.  He  told  them  to  roast  a  big  lot  of 
pumpkin  seeds  and  to  go  into  their  houses  and 
keep  still.  And  when  the  people  had  roasted  the 
pumpkin  seeds  and  gone  into  their  houses,  Ee- 
ee-toy  came  around  and  stopped  up  the  door  of 
every  house  with  bushes,  and  plastered  clay  over 
the  bushes  as  the  Awawtam  still  do  when  they 
go  away  from  home. 

After  a  time  Hawawk  came  around,  and  stood 
near  the  houses,  and  listened,  and  heard  the  peo 
ple  cracking  the  pumpkin  seeds  inside. 


110  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  she  said:  "Where  are  all  my  grandchildren? 
They  must  have  been  gone  for  a  long  time,  for 
I  do  not  see  any  tracks,  nor  hear  any  voices, 
and  I  hear  only  the  rats  eating  the  seeds  in  the 
empty  houses. " 

And  she  came  severartimesv  and  saw  no  one, 
and  really  believed  the  people  had  gone  entirely 
away.  And  for  a  while  she  did  not  come  any 
more,  but  after  a  time  she  was  one  day  running 
by  the  village  and  she  saw  some  children  play 
ing.  And  she  caught  two  and  ran  with  them  to 
her  cave.  And  from  that  day  she  went  on  steal 
ing  children  as  before. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  made  him  a  rattle,  out  of  a  wild 
gourd,  and  went  and  lay  on  the  trail  on  which 
Hawawk  usually  came,  and  changed  himself  into 
the  little  animal  called  "Kaw-awts"  And  when 
Hawawk  came  along  she  poked  him  with  a  stick 
of  her  gyih-haw  and  said.  "Here  is  a  little  kaw- 
awts.  He  must  be  my  pet."  And  then  Ee-ee- 
toy  jumped  up  and  shook  his  rattle  at  her,  and 
frightened  her  so  that  she  ran  home.  And  then 
Ee-ee-toy  made  rattles  for  all  the  children  in  that 
place  and  when  they  saw  Hawawk  coming  they 
would  shake  their  rattles  at  her  and  scare  her 
back  again. 

But  after  a  while  Hawawk  became  used  to  the 
rattles  and  ceased  to  fear  them,  and  even  while 
they  were  shaking  she  would  run  and  carry  some 
of  the  children  off. 

And  one  day  two  little  boys  were  hunting  doves 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    1 1 1 

after  the  manner  of  the  country.  They  had  a  little 
kee  of  willows,  and  a  hole  inside  in  the  sand 
where  they  sat,  and  outside  a  stick  stuck-up  for 
the  doves  to  light  on.  And  when  the  doves  came 
they  would  shoot  them  with  their  bows  and  ar 
rows.  And  while  they  were  doing  this  they  saw 
Hawawk  coming.  And  they  said  "What  shall 
we  do!  Hawawk  is  coming  and  will  eat  us  up." 

And  they  lay  down  in  the  hole  in  the  sand  and 
covered  themselves  with  the  dove's  feathers.  And 
Hawawk  came  and  said:  "Where  are  my  grand 
children!  Some  of  them  have  been  here  very 
lately."  And  she  went  all  around  and  looked  for 
their  tracks,  but  could  find  none  leading  away 
from  the  place.  And  she  came  back  again  to  the 
kee,  and  while  she  was  looking  in  a  wind  came 
and  swept  away  all  the  dove-feathers,  and  she 
sprang  in  and  caught  up  the  two  boys  and  put 
them  in  her  gyih-haw  and  started  off. 

And  as  she  went  along  the  boys  said:  "Grand 
mother,  we  like  flat  stones  to  play  with.  Wont 
you  give  us  all  the  flat  stones  you  can  find?" 
And  Hawawk  picked  up  all  the  flat  stones  she 
came  to  and  put  them  one  by  one  over  her  shouder 
into  the  basket. 

And  the  boys  said,  again,  after  the  basket  be- 
gain  to  get  heavy,  "Grandmother,  we  like  to  go 
under  limbs  of  trees.  Go  under  all  the  low  limbs 
of  trees  you  can  to  please  us."  And  Hawawk 
went  under  a  low  tree,  and  one  of  the  boys 
caught  hold  of  the  limb  and  hung  there  till 


112  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

she  had  gone  on.  And  Hawawk  went  under 
another  tree,  and  the  other  boy  canght  hold  of 
a  limb  and  staid  there.  But  because  of  the 
flat  stones  she  kept  putting  into  her  gyih-haw 
Hawawk  did  not  notice  this.  And  when  she  got 
to  her  cave  and  emptied  her  basket  there  were 
no  boys  there. 

And  when  Hawawk  saw  this  she  turned  back 
and  found  the  tracks  of  the  boys,  and  ran,  follow 
ing  after  them,  and  caught  up  with  them  just  be 
fore  they  -got  to  their  village.  And  she  would 
have  caught  them  there,  and  carried  them  off  £- 
gain,  but  the  boys  had  gathered  some  of  the  fine 
thorns  of  a  cactus,  and  when  Hawawk  came 
near  they  held  them  up  and  let  them  blow  with 
the  wind  into  her  face. 

And  they  stuck  in  her  eyes,  and  hurt  them,  and 
"She  began -to  rub  her  eyes,  which  made  them  hurt 
worse  so  that  she  could  not  see  them,  and  thtn 
the  boys  ran  home  and  thus  saved  their  lives. 

After  that  she  went  to  another  place  called  Vahf- 
kee-wohlt-kih,  or  the  Notched  Cliffs,  and  staid 
around  there  and  ate  the  children,  and  then  she 
moved  to  another  place,  the  old  name  of  which 
is  now  forgotten,  but  it  is  called,  now,  Stchew- 
a-dack  Vah-veeuh,  or  the  Green  Well.  And 
there,  too,  she  killed  the  children. 

And  the  people  called  on  Ee-ee-toy  to  help  them, 
and  Ee-ee-toy  said,  "I  will  kill  her  at  once!" 

And  Ee-ee-toy,  being  her  relative,  went  to  her 
home  and  said:  ''Your  grandchildren  want  some 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas  113 

amusement  and  are  going  to  have  dances  now 
every  night  and  would  like  you  to  come." 

And  she  replied:  "You  know  very  well  I  do 
not  care  for  such  things.  I  do  not  care  to  come." 

And  Ee-ee-toy  returned  and  told  the  people  she 
did  not  care  to  come  to  their  dances,  tho  he  had 
invited  her,  but  he  would  think  of  some  other 
way  to  get  her  to  come  where  they  were,  that 
they  might  kill  her. 

And  he  went  a  second  time,  and  told  her  the 
people  were  going  to  sing  the  Hwah-guff-san- 
nuh-kotch  Nyuee,  or  Basket  Drumming  Song, 
and  wanted  her  to  come.  But  she  said:  "I  have 
heard  of  that  song,  but  I  do  not  care  to  hear  it. 
I  care  nothing  for  such  things,  and  I  will  not 
come." 

So  Ee-ee-toy  returned  and  told  of  his  second 
failure,  but  promised  he  would  try  again.  And 
in  the  morning  he  went  to  her  and  said:  "Your 
grand-children  are  going  to  sing  the  song  Haw- 
hawf-kuh  Nyaee  or  Dance  of  the  Bone-trimmed 
Dresses  Song  and  they  want  you  to  come.  "But 
she  said:  "I  do  not  care  for  this  song,  either, 
and  I  will  not  come." 

And  Ee-ee-toy  told  of  his  third  failure,  but 
promised  the  people  he  would  try  once  more, 
and  when  the  morning  came  he  went  to  Haw- 
awk  and  said:  "Your  grandchildren  are  going  to 
dance  tonight  to  the  song  which  is  called  See- 
coll-cod-dha-kOi,ch  Nyuee"  (which  is  a  sort  of 
ring  dance  with  the  dancers  in  a  circle  with  joined 


114  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

hands)  "and  they  want  you  to  come." 

And  she  said:  "That  is  what    I    like.     I    will 
come  to  that.     When  is  it  going  to  be?" 
And  he  said:   "It  will  be  this  very  night." 
And  he  went  and  told  the  people  she  was  com 
ing  and  they  must  be  ready  for  her. 

Hawawk  got  ready  in  the  early  evening  and 
dressed  herself  in  a  skirt  of  soft  buckskin.  And 
over  this  she  placed  an  overskirt  *of  deerskin, 
fringed  with  long  cut  fringes  with  deer-hoofs  at 
the  ends  to  rattle.  And  then  she  ran  to  the  danc 
ing  place;  and  the  people  could  hear  her  a  long 
way  off,  rattling,  as  she  came.  And  they  were 
already  dancing  when  she  arrived  there,  and  she 
went  and  joined  hands  with  Ee-ee-toy. 

And  Hawawk  was  a  great  smoker,  and  Ee-ee- 
toy  made  cigarettes  for  her  that  had  something 
in  them  that  would  make  folks  sleep.  And  he 
smoked  these  himself,  a  little,  to  assure  her,  but 
cautiously  and  moderately,  not  inhaling  the  smoke, 
but  she  inhaled  the  smoke,  and  before  the  four 
nights  were  up  she  was  so  sleepy  that  the  people 
were  dragging  her  around  as  they  danced,  and 
then  she  got  so  fast  asleep  that  Ee-ee-toy  carried 
her  on  his  shoulder. 

And  all  the  time  they  were  dancing  they  were 
moving  across  country,  and  getting  nearer  the 
cave  where  she  lived,  and  other  people  at  the 
same  time  were  ahead  of  them  carrying  lots  of 
wood  to  her  cave.  And  when  they  arrived  at  her 
cave  in  the  mountain  of  Tahtkum  they  laid  her 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas  115 

sleeping  body  down  inside,  and  placed  the  wood 
in  the  cave  between  her  and  the  door,  filling  it 
all  to  the  entrance,  which  they  closed  with  four 
hurdles,  such  as  the  people  fasten  their  doors 
with,  so  that  she  could  not  run  out. 

And  then  they  set  the  wood  on  fire,  and  it 
burned  fiercely,  and  when  the  fire  reached  Haw- 
awk  she  waked  and  cried  out.  "My  grandchil 
dren,  what  have  I  done  that  you  should  treat  me 
this  way!" 

And  the  fire  hurt  her  so  that  she  jumped  up 
and  down  with  pain,  and  her  head  struck  the 
ceiling  of  the  cave  and  split  the  rock.  And  when 
the  people  saw  it  they  called  to  Ee-ee-toy,  and 
he  went  and  put  his  foot  over  the  crack,  and 
sealed  it  up,  and  you  may  see  the  track  of  his 
foot  there  to  this  day. 

But  Ee-ee-toy  was  not  quick  enough,  and  her 
soul  escaped  through  the  crack. 

And  then  for  a  while  the  people  had  peace,  but 
in  time  her  soul  turned  into  a  green  hawk,  and 
this  hawk  killed  the  people,  but  did  not  eat  them. 

And  this  made  the  people  great  trouble,  but 
one  day  a  woman  was  making  pottery  and  she 
had  just  taken  one  pot  out  of  the  fire  and  left 
another  one  in  the  furnace,  on  its  side,  when  this 
hawk  saw  her  and  came  swooping  down  from  high 
in  the  air  to  kill  her,  but  missed  her,  and  went 
into  the  hot  pot  in  the  fire,  and  so  was  burned 
up  and  destroyed. 

And  one  day  they  boiled  greens    in   that  pot, 


116  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

the  greens  calle'd  choo-hook-yuh,  and  the  greens 
boiled  so  hard  that  they  boiled  over,  and  splashed 
around  and  killed  people.  And  they  boiled  all 
day  and  stopped  at  night,  and  at  daybreak  began 
again  to  boil,  and  this  they  did  for  a  long  time; 
boiling  by  day  and  stopping  at  night. 

And  the  people  sent  for  Toehahvs  who  lived  in 
the  east,  and  Gee-ah-duk  Seeven,  or  Strong  Bow 
Chief,  who  lived  where  is  now  the  ruin  of  Aw- 
awt-kum  Vah-ahk-kee,  to  kill  the  pot  for  them. 

And  when  they  arrived  Geeahduk  Seeven  en 
quired  if  the  pot  slept.  And  the  people  said. 
"Yes,  it  sleeps  all  night."  Then  said  Geeah 
duk  Seeven,  "We  will  get  up  very  early,  before 
the  pot  wakes,  and  then  we  will  kill  it." 

But  Toehahvs  said;  "That  is  not  right,  to  go 
and  kill  it  at  night.  I  am  not  like  a  jealous  wo 
man  who  goes  and  fights  her  rival  in  the  dark 
ness.  I  am  not  a  woman,  I  am  a  man!" 

And  Toehahvs  said  to  Geeahduk  Seeven:  "I 
will  go  in  the  morning  to  attack  the  pot  and  I 
want  you  to  go  on  the  other  side,  and  if  the  pot 
throws  its  fluid  at  me,  so  that  I  cannot  conquer  it, 
then  do  you  run  up  on  the  other  side  and  smash  it." 

Then' Toehahvs  took  his  shield  and  his  club, 
in  the  morning,  and  went  to  attack  the  pot.  But 
the  pot  saw  him,  and,  altho  he  held  up  his 
shield,  it  boiled  over,  and  threw  the  boiling  choo- 
hookyuh  so  high  and  far  that  some  of  it  fell  on 
Toehahvs'  back  and  scalded  it.  And  Toehahvs 
had  to  give  back  a  little.  But  at  that  moment 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    117 

Geeahduk  Seeven  ran  in  on  the  other  side  and 
smashed  the  pot. 

And  there  was  an  old  man  with  an  orphan 
grandson,  living  near  there,  and  when  the  pot 
was  smashed  these  came  to  the  spot  and  ate  up 
the  choohookyuh.  And  at  once  they  were  turned 
into  bears,  the  old  man  into  a  black  bear,  the  boy 
into  a  brown  bear. 

And  these  bears  also  killed  people,  and  tho 
the  people  tried  to  kill  them,  for  a  long  time  they 
could  not  do  so.  When  they  shot  arrows  at  the 
bears,  the  bears  would  catch  them  and  break  them 
up.  And  so  the  people  had  to  study  out  other 
ways  to  get  the  better  of  them.  There  is  a  kind 
of  palm-tree,  called  o-nook,  which  has  balls  where 
the  branches  come  out,  and  the  people  burned 
the  trees  to  get  these  balls,  and  threw  them  at 
the  bears.  And  the  bears  caught  the  balls,  and 
fought  and  wrestled  with  them,  and  while  their 
attention  was  taken  by  these  balls  the  people  shot 
arrows  at  them  and  killed  them. 

And  thus  ended  forever  the  evil  power  of  Haw. 
awk. 


118  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  HAWAWK 

The  Story  of  Hawawk  opens  with  an  interesting  reference 
to  the  favorite  Pima  game  of  football.  The  ball  was  a- 
bout  two  and  one  half  inches  in  diameter,  merely  a  heavy 
pebble  coated  thick  with  black  greasewood  gum.  Some 
times  it  was  decorated  with  little  inlays  of  shell.  It  was 
thrown  by  the  lifting  of  the  naked  or  sandaled  foot,  rather 
than  kicked.  Astonishing  tales  are  told  of  the  running 
power  and  endurance  of  the  older  Indians.  White  and 
red  men  agree  in  the  testimony. 

Emory  says  of  the  Maricopa  interpreter,  Thirsty  Hawk, 
before  alluded  to,  that  he  came  running  into  their  camp 
on  foot  and  "appeard  to  keep  pace  with  the  fleetest  horse." 
Whittemore,  the  missionary,  says:  "Some  young  women 
could  travel  from  forty  to  fifty  miles  in  sixteen  hours, 
and  there  were  warriors  who  ran  twenty  miles,  keeping 
a  horse  on  a  canter  following  them."  G.  W.  Mardis,  the 
trader  at  Phoenix,  told  me  he  had  known  Indians  to  run 
all  day,  and  my  interpreter  told  me  of  Pimas  running 
forty  to  seventy  miles  in  a  day,  hunting  horses  on  the 
mountains.  Others  ran  races  with  horses  and  with  a 
little  handicap  and  for  moderate  distance  often  beat  them. 
On  these  long  runs  after  horses  the  men  took  their  foot 
balls  and  kept  them  going,  saying  it  made  the  journey 
amusing  and  less  tiresome.  And  undoubtedly  it  was,  in 
the  practice  of  this  sport,  that  their  powers  were  devel 
oped.  Beside  the  usual  foot-races,  in  which  all  Indians 
delight,  it  often  happened  that  two  champions  would,  on 
a  set  day,  start  in  different  directions  and  chase  their 
footballs  far  out  on  the  desert,  perhaps  ten  miles  and 
then  return.  The  one  who  came  in  first  was  winner. 
The  whole  tribe,  in  two  parties,  on  horseback  as  far  as 
they  could  get  mounts,  followed  the  champions,  as  judges, 
assistants,  critics  and  friends  and  there  was  profuse  bet 
ting  and  picturesque  excitement  and  display. 

But  the  fine  old  athletic  games  seem  to  have  all  died 
out  now. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    119 

Stories  of  miraculous  conception  are  not  uncommon  in 
Indian  tradition,  and  this  story  of  the  bewitching  of  the 
young  girl  into  motherhood  thru  the  agency  of  the  foot 
ball  is  an  instance. 

This  gruesome  and  graphic  tale  is  full  of  insight  into 
Indian  thought  and  fancy.  In  reading  it  we  are  reminded 
of  many  familiar  old  nursery  tales  of  kidnapped  child, 
pig  or  fowl  ("the  little  red  hin"  of  Irish  legend  for  in 
stance)  and  of  Were-Wolf  and  Loup-Garou. 

And  here  reappears  the  old  myth  of  some  god's  or  hero's 
footstep  printed  in  solid  rock. 

Here  is  a  hint,  too,  of  transmigration  in  the  various  ad 
ventures  of  the  soul  of  Hawawk. 

My  Indian  hosts  cooked  me  a  pot  of  choohookyuh 
greens,  and  I  found  them  very  palatable. 

The  reference  to  the  pottery  making  reminds  me  of  Pima 
arts.  Today  the  Maricopas  have  almost  a  monopoly 
of  pottery  making,  tho  the  Quohatas  make  some  good  pot 
tery  too.  It  is  shaped  by  the  hands  (no  potters  wheel 
being  known)  and  smoothed  and  polished  by  stones,  paint 
ed  red  with  a  mineral  and  black  with  mezquite  gum  and 
baked  in  a  common  fire.  It  is  often  very  artistic  in  a 
rude  way,  in  form  and  decoration. 

The  Papagoes  do  most  of  the  horse-hair  work,  chiefly 
bridles,  halters  and  lariat  ropes,  and  make  mats  and  fans 
from  rushes. 

The  Pimas  make  the  famous  black  and  white,  water 
tight  baskets,  which  are  too  well  known  to  need  descrip 
tion.  The  black  in  these  is  shreds  of  the  dead-black  seed 
pod  of  the  devil-claw  and  not  some  fibre  dyed  black,  as 
some  suppose. 

There  seems^to  have  been  no  original  bead  work  a- 
mong  Pima  Indians. 


THE  STORY  OF  TAWQUAHDAHMAWKS 
AND  HER  CANAL 


KSg 

Afe 
1 


iii 


N  D  after  this  the  people  had  long 
peace,  increased  in  numbers,  and  were 
scattered  all  around.  Some  lived  where 
the  old  vahahkkees  now  are  in  the 
Gila  country,  and  some  lived  in  the  Pa- 
pago  country,  and  some  in  the  Salt 
River  country.  And  those  who  lived  where  the 
mound  now  is  between  Phoenix  and  Tempe  were 
the  first  to  use  a  canal  to  irrigate  their  land. 
And  these  raised  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and  had 
fine  crops.  And  the  people  of  the  Gila  country 
and  the  people  of  the  Salt  River  country  at 
first  did  not  raise  many  vegetables,  because 
they  did  not  irrigate,  and  they  used  to  visit  the 
people  who  did  irrigate  and  eat  with  them;  but 
after  a  while  the  people  who  lived  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Salt  River  also  made  a  canal,  and  you 
can  see  it  to  this  day. 

But  when  these  people  tried  their  canal  it  did 
not  work.  When  they  dammed  the  river  the 
water  did  not  run,  because  the  canal  was  uphill. 
And  they  could  not  seem  to  make  it  deeper,  be 
cause  it  was  all  in  a  lime  rock. 

And  they  sent  for  Ee-ee-toy  to  help  them.  And 
Ee-ee-toy  had  them  get  stakes  of  ironwood,  and 
sharpen  them,  and  all  stand  in  a  row  with  their 
stakes  in  their  hands  at  the  bottom  of  the  canal. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    121 

And  then  Ee-ee-toy  sang  a  song,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  song  the  people  were  all  to  strike  their 
stakes  into  the  bottom  of  the  canal  to  make  it 
deeper.  But  it  would  not  work,  it  was  too  hard, 
and  Ee-ee-toy  gave  it  up. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  said:  "I  can  do  no  more,  but 
there  is  an  old  woman  named  Taw-quah-dahm- 
awks  (which  means  The  Wampum  Eater)  and 
she,  tho  only  a  woman,  is  very  wise,  and  likely 
can  help  you  better  than  I.  I  advise  you  to  send 
for  her." 

And  the  people  sent  for  her,  and  she  said:  "I 
will  come  at  once." 

And  she  came,  as  she  had  promised,  but  she 
did  not  go  to  where  the  people  were  assembled, 
but  went  right  to  the  canal.  And  she  had  brought 
a  Tog  with  her,  and  she  left  the  fog  at  the  river, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  canal.  And  she  went  up 
the  course  of  the  canal,  looking  this  way  and  that, 
to  see  how  much  up-hill  it  ran. 

And  when  she  reached  where  the  canal  ran  up 
hill  she  blew  thru  it  the  breath  which  is  called 
seev-hur-whirl,  which  means  a  bitter  wind.  And 
this  wind  tore  up  the  bed  of  the  canal,  as  deep 
as  was  necessary,  throwing  the  dirt  and  rocks 
out  on  each  side. 

And  then  the  fog  dammed  up  the  river  and  the 
water  ran  thru  the  canal. 

Then  the  old  woman  did  not  go  near  the  people, 
but  went  home,  and  in  the  morning,  when  one  of 
the  people  went  to  see  why  the  old  woman  did 


122  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

not  come,  he  saw  the  canal  full  of  water  and  he 
yelled  to  everybody  to  come  and  see  it. 

And  in  this  way  these  people  got  water  for 
their  crops  and  were  as  prosperous  as  the  others 
below  them. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    123 
NOTES  ON 

THE  STORY  OF  TAWQUAHDAHMAWKS 


In  this  story  we  find  proof  that  the  oldest  digging  uten 
sil  was  a  sharpened  stake. 

Before  these  people  became  agricultural  they  must  have 
subsisted  mainly  on  the  game  and  wild  fruits  of  the 
desert.  They  showed  me  several  seed-bearing  bushes  and 
weeds  which  in  old  time  had  helped  to  eke  out  for  them 
an  existence. 

Starvation  must  have  often  stared  them  in  the  face, 
and  the  references  to  hunger,  and  the  prophecies  of  plenty, 
and  of  visits  to  relatives  whose  crops  were  good,  are 
scattered  pathetically  all  thru  these  legends. 

And  indeed,  until  very  recently,  mezquite  beans  and 
the  fruit  of  various  cactus  plants  were  staple  articles  of 
food. 

Mezquite  beans  grow  in  a  pod  on  the  thorny  mezquite 
trees.  The  gathering  of  them  was  quite  a  tribal  event, 
large  parties  going  out.  The  beans  when  brought  home 
were  pounded  in  the  chee-o-pah,  or  mortar,  which  was 
made  by  burning  a  hollow  in  the  end  of  a  short  mez 
quite  log,  set  in  the  ground  like  a  low  post.  A  long  round 
stone  pestle,,  or  vee-it-kotey  was  used  to  beat  with,  and 
sometimes  the  cheeopah  itself  was  of  stone.  But  stone 
mortars  were  usually  ancient  and  dug  from  out  the  vah- 
ahkkee  ruins. 

The  beans,  crushed  very  fine  and  separated  from  the 
indigestible  seeds,  packed  into  a  sweet  cake  that  would 
keep  a  year. 

Various  cactus  fruits  were  eaten.  They  warned  me  that 
for  a  novice  to  eat  freely  of  prickly  pears  produced  a  lame, 
sore  feeling,  as  if  one  had  taken  cold  or  a  fever.  I  no 
ticed  no  symptoms  however.  The  fruit  of  the  giant  cactus 
is  gathered  from  the  top,  around  which  it  grows  like  a 


124  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

crown,  by  a  long  light  pole,  made  from  the  rib  of  the 
same  cactus,  with  a  little  hook  at  its  end  made  by  tying 
another  short  piece,  slant-wise,  across.  They  called  the 
constellation  of  Ursa  Major,  Quee-ay-put,  or  The  Cactus- 
Puller,  from  a  fancied  resemblance  to  this  familiar  im 
plement. 

The  giant  cactus,  or  har-san,  was  eaten  ripe,  or  dried 
in  the  sun,  or  boiled  to  a  jam  and  sealed  away  in  earth- 
em  jars.  They  also  fermented  it  by  mixing  with  water,' 
and  made  their  famous  tis-win  or  whiskey  from  it.  They 
had  "big  drunks"  at  this  time,  in  which  all  the  tribe 
joined  in  a  general  spree. 

A  sort  of  large  worm  (larva)  was  also  gathered  in  large 
quantities,  boiled  and  eaten  with  salt. 

The  confusion  in  the  Pima  thougth  on  religious  matters 
is  well  revealed  in  this  tale,  in  which  Ee-ee-toy,  who  may 
be  regarded  as  a  god,  frankly  admits  that  in  some  matters 
an  old  womaji  may  be  wiser  and  more  powerful  than  he. 
Nothing  appears  to  have  been  very  clearly  defined  in  their 
faith  except  that  a  mahkai  might  be  or  do  almost  anything. 


HOW  NOOEE  KILLED  EE-EE-TOY 

E-EE-TOY  lived  in  the  Salt  River  Moun 
tain,  which  is  called  by  the  Awawtam 
Moehahdheck,  or  the  Brown  Mountain, 
and  whenever  the  girls  had  ceremonial 
dances  because  of  their  arrival  at  wom 
anhood  he  would  come  and  sing  the  ap 
propriate  songs.  And  it  often  happened  that  he 
would  tempt  thtse  young  girls  away  to  his  moun 
tain,  to  be  his  wives,  but  after  keeping  them 
awhile  he  would  grow  tired  of  them  and  send 
them  back. 

And  the  people  disliked  Ee-ee-toy  because  of 
th;s.  And  when  they  had  crops,  too,  Ee-ee-toy 
would  often  shoot  his  hot  arrows  thru  the  fields, 
and  wither  up  the  growing  things ;  and  tho  the 
people  did  not  see  him  do  this,  they  knew  he  was 
guilty,  and  they  wanted  to  kill  him,  but  they  did 
not  know  how  to  do  it. 

And  the  people  talked  together  about  how  they 
could  kill  Ee-ee-toy.  And  two  young  boys,  there 
were,  who  were  always  together,  And  as  they 
lay  at  the  door  of  their  kee  they  heard  the  peo 
ple  talking  of  sending  bunches  of  people  here  and 
there  to  kill  Ee-ee-toy,  and  one  said:  "He  is  only 
one,  we  could  kill  him  ourselves."  And  the  other 
one  said:  "Let  us  go  and  kill  him,  then." 

So  the  two  boys  went  to  Moehahdheck,  and 
found  Ee-ee-toy  lying  asleep,  and  beat  him  with 
their  clubs,  and  killed  him,  and  then  came  back 
and  told  the  people  of  what  they  had  done.  But 


126  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

none  of  the  people  went  to  see  the  truth  of  this 
and  in  the  morning  Ee-ee-toy  came  again,  just 
as  he  used  to  do,  and  walked  around  among  the 
people,  who  said  among  themselves:  "I  thought 
the  boys  said  they  had  killed  him." 

And  that  same  night  all  the  people  went  toMoe- 
hahdheck,  and  found  Ee-ee-toy  asleep,  and  fell 
upon  him  arid  killed  him.  And  there  was  a  pile 
of  wood  outside,  and  they  laid  him  on  this  and 
set  fire  to  the  wood  and  burned  his  flesh.  And 
feeling  sure  that  he  was  now  dead,  they  went 
home,  but  in  the  morning  there  he  was,  walking 
around,  alive  again. 

And  so  the  people  assembled  again,  and  that 
night,  once  more,  they  killed  him,  and  they  cut 
his  flesh  up  into  little  bits,  and  put  it  into  a  pot, 
and  boiled  it,  and  when  it  was  cooked  they  threw 
it  all  away  in  different  directions.  But  in  the 
morning  he  was  alive  again  and  the  people  gave 
it  up  for  that  time. 

But  after  awhile  they  were  planning  again  how 
to  kill  him;  and  one  of  them  proposed  that  they 
all  go  and  tie  him  with  ropes  and  take  him  to  a 
high  cliff,  and  push  him  off,  and  let  him  fall. 
And  so  they  went  and  did  this,  but  Ee-ee-toy 
was  not  hurt  at  all.  He  just  walked  off,  when 
he  reached  the  bottom,  and  looked  up  at  the 
people  above  him. 

The  next  scheme  was  to  drown  him.  They 
caught  him  and  led  him  to  a  whirlpool,  and  tied 
his  hands  and  feet  and  threw  him  in.  But  he 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    127 

; 

came  up  in  a  few  minutes,  without  any  ropes  on, 
and  looked  at  the  people,  and  then  dived,  and  so 
kept  on  coming  up  and  diving  down.  And  the 
people,  seeing  they  could  not  drown  him,  went 
home  once  more. 

Then  Nooee  called  the  people  together  and 
said:  "It  is  of  no  use  for  you  to  try  to  kill  Be- 
ee-toy,  for  you  cannot  kill  him.  He  is  too  power 
ful  for  men  to  kill.  He  has  power  over  the 
winds,  and  all  the  animals,  and  he  knows  all  that 
is  going  on  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  sky. 
And  I  have  power  something  like  him." 

So  Nooee  told  the  people  to  come  in,  that  even 
ing,  to  his  house.  He  said:  "I  will  show  you 
part  of  my  power,  and  I  want  every  one  to  see  it." 

And  Nooee  lived  not  far  from  where  Ee-ee- 
toy  did,  south  of  the  Moehahdheck  mountain, 
at  a  place  called  Nooee  Vahahkkee,  and  that 
was  where  he  invited  the  people  to  come. 

And  so,  when  the  people  assembled  at  Nooee 
Vahahkkee,  Nooee  made  earth  in  his  habitation, 
and  mountains  on  it,  and  all  things  on  it,  in  tittle 
as  we  say,  so  that  the  people  could  see  his  power; 
for  Juhwerta  Mahki  had  made  him  to  have  power, 
tho  he  had  not  cared  to  use  it.  And  he  made  a  little 
world  in  his  house  for  them  to  look  at,  with  sun, 
moon  and  stars  working  just  as  our  sun  and  stars 
work;  and  everything  exactly  like  our  world. 

And  when  night  came,  Nooee  pushed  the  dark 
ness  back  with  his  hands,  and  spread  it  on  the 
walls,  so  that  the  people  could  see  his  little  world 


128  Aw-aw~tam      Indian  Nights 

and  how  it  worked.  And  he  was  there  four  days 
and  four  nights,  showing  this  wonder  to  jthe 
people. 

And  after  this  Nooee  flew,  up  thru  the  open 
ings  in  the  roof  of  his  house,  and  sat  there,  and 
saw  the  sun  rise.  And  as  soon  as  the  sun  rose 
Nooee  flew  towards  it,  and  flew  up  and  up, 
higher  and  higher,  until  he  could  see  Ee-ee-toy's 
heart.  And  he  wore  a  nose  ring,  as  all  the  brave 
people  did,  a  nose  ring  of  turquoise.  But  from 
his  high  view  he  saw  that  everything  looked  green 
and  so  he  knew  he  could  not  kill  Eee-ee-toy  that 
day. 

And  the  next  day  he  did  the  same  thing,  only 
he  wore  a  new  nose-ring,  made  of  a  sparkling 
shell.  And  when  he  got  up  high  enuf  to  see  Ee- 
ee-toy's  heart  he  saw  that  the  ground  looked  dry, 
and  he  was  very  much  pleased,  for  he  knew  that 
now  he  would,  someday,  kill  Ee-ee-toy.  And  he 
went  home. 

And  the  third  morning  Nooee  again  put  on 
his  nose  ring  of  glittering  shell,  and  flew  up  to 
meet  the  Sun,  and  he  flew  up  and  up  until  he 
came  to  the  sun  himself.  And  Nooee  said  to 
the  Sun:  "You  know  there  is  a  Person,  on  earth, 
called  Ee-ee-toy,  who  is  very  bad,  and  I  want  to 
kill  him,  and  I  want  your  help,  and  this  is  the 
reason  I  come  to  you." 

And  Nooee  said  to  the  Sun:  "Now  you  go 
back,  and  let  me  shine  in  your  place,  and  I  will 
give  just  as  much  light  'as  you  do,  but  let  me 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas  129 

have  your  vi-no-me-gaht,  your  gun,  to  shoot  with, 
when  I  get  around  to  your  home."  And  the  Sun 
said:  "Moe-vah  Sop-hwah,  that  is  all  right.  But 
I  always  go  down  over  yonder  mountain,  and 
when  you  get  to  that  mountain  just  stop  and  look 
back,  and  see  how  the  world  looks." 

And  Nooee  took  the  Sun's  place,  and  went 
down,  that  evening,  over  the  mountain,  stopping, 
as  he  was  told,  to  see  how  wonderful  the  world 
looked;  and  when  he  came  to  the  Sun's  home, 
the  sun  gave  him  the  weapon  he  shot  with. 

And  the  next  morning  Nooee  rose  in  place  of 
the  Sun,  and  after  rising  a  little  he  shot  at  the 
earth,  and  it  became  very  hot.  And  before  noon 
he  shot  again,  and  it  was  still  hotter.  And  Ee- 
ee-toy  knew,  now  that  he  was  going  to  be  killed, 
but  he  tried  to  use  all  his  power  to  save  himself. 
He  ran  around,  and  came  to  a  pond  where  there 
had  always  been  ice,  and  he  jumped  in  to  cool 
himself,  but  it  was  all  boiling  water. 

And  when  it  was  nearly  noon  Nooee  shot  a- 
gain,  and  it  became  terribly  hot,  and  Ee-ee-toy 
ran  for  a,  rock  which  had  always  been  cold,  but 
just  before  he  got  there  the  heat  made  the  rock 
burst. 

And  he  ran  to  a  tree,  whose  cool  shade  he 
often  enjoyed,  but  as  he  came  near  it  the  tree 
began  to  burst  into  flame,  and  he  had  to  turn 
back.  And  now  it  was  noon,  and  Nooee  shot 
again. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  ran  to  a  great  post,  all  striped 


130  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

around  with  black  and  white,  which  had  been 
made  by  his  power,  and  which  had  a  hollow  that 
was  always  cool  inside,  and  was  about  to  put  his 
arms  around  it  when  he  fell  down  and  died. 

So  Ee-ee-toy  was  dead,  and  Nooee  went  down 
to  his  setting,  and  returned  the  weapon  to  the 
Sun,  and  then  went  home  to  his  vahahkkee. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas  131 


THE  SONG  OF 
NOOEE  WHEN  HE  WENT  TO  THE  SUN 

The  Rising  (Sun)  I  am  going  to  meet. 

(Repeated  many  times) 


WHEN  NOOEE  KILLEED  EE-EE-TOY* 
(A  Song) 

The  gun,  he  gave  it  to  me  as  a  cane; 
With  it  I  killed  the  Brother's  heart. 


*The  reference  to    the  "gun"  shows    clearly    that  this 
song  was  made  after  the  advent  of  the  white   man. 


132  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  HOW  NOOEE    KILLED  EE-EE-TOY 

The  hot  arrows  of  Ee-ee-toy,  that  withered  the  crops, 
remind  us  of  Apollo. 

The  idea  often  comes  up  in  these  stories  that  a  person 
possessing  the  powers  of  a  mahkai  was  hard  to  kill,  hav 
ing  as  many  lives  as  a  cat.  It  would  also  appear  that 
there  was  a  confusion  as  to  what  constituted  killing,  any 
way,  They  perhaps  regarded  mere  unconsciousness  as 
death,  Both  Ee-ee-toy  and  Nooee  are  "killed,"  but  after 
an  interval  are  alive  again.  And  Whittemore  relates: 
"An  Apache,  seeing  Louis,  the  Pima  interpreter,  came  to 
him  in  high  glee.  Taking  his  hand,  he  said:  'You  are 
the  Pima  who  killed  me  years  ago.'  Louis  then  recognized 
him  as  the  man  to  whom  he  had  dealt  a  heavy  blow  with 
a  warclub,  and  then  left  him  for  dead  on  the  battle-field." 

Is  there  any  connection  between  the  the  fact  that  when 
Nooee  wore  a  nose-ring  of  turquoise  the  earth  looked 
green,  and  that  when  he  wore  a  nose-ring  of  glittering 
shell  the  earth  looked  dry  to  him? 

Could  this  whole  story  have  been  a  myth  of  some  great 
drouth? 


EE-EE-TOY'S  RESURRECTION  AND  SPEECH 
TO  JUHWERTA  MAHKAI 


mm 


ND  after  Ee-ee-toy  was  dead  he  lay  there, 
as  some  say  for  four  months,  and  some 
say  for  four  years;     He  was  killed,  but 
his  winds  were  not  killed,  nor  his  clouds 
and  they  were  sorry  for  him,  and  his 
clouds  rained  on  him. 
And  he  lay  there  so  long  that  the   little  chil 
dren  played  on  him,  jumping  from  him. 

But  at  last  he  began  to  come  to  life  again,  hold 
ing  down  the  ground — as  a  wounded  man  does, 
moaning,  and  there  was  thunder,  and  an  earth 
quake. 

And  Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai's  daughter 
was  grinding  corn  when  this  happened,  and  the 
corn  rolled  in  the  basket,  and  she  said:  "How  is 
it  that  it  thunders  when  there  are  no  clouds,  none 
to  be  seen,  and  that  the  corn  rolls  in  the  basket?" 
And  her  father  said:  "You  may  think  this  is 
only  thunder,  but  I  tell  you  wonderful  things  are 
going  to  happen." 

Ee-ee-toy,  when  he  got  a  little  stronger,  picked 
up  some  stones  and  examined  them,  and  threw 
them  away.  He  did  this  four  times,  throwing 
away  the  stones  each  time,  not  liking  any  of  them. 
And  the  children  went  there  to  play,  and  found 
him  alive,  and  asked  each  other:  "Why  is  that 
old  man  doing  that,  picking  up  stones,  and  throw 
ing  them  away,  and  picking  up  more?" 


134  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  he  began  then  to  cut  up  all  kinds  of  sticks, 
four  at  a  time,  and  to  lay  them  down  and  look 
at  them,  but  he  liked  none  of  them.  Then  he 
cut  arrow  weeds,  four  of  them,  and  he  liked  their 
look.  And  he  lit  his  pipe  and  blew  the  smoke 
over  them,  and  spread  his  hand  above  them,  and 
he  liked  the  light  of  them  which  came  thru  his 
fingers. 

And  he  put  those  sticks  away  in  his  pouch. 
And  then  he  rose  and  took  a  few  steps,  and  be 
gan  to  walk.  And  all  his  springs  of  water  had 
been  dried  up  while  he  was  dead,  but  when  he 
walked  the  earth  again  they  gushed  forth,  and  he 
dipped  his  fingers  in  them  and  stroked  his  wet 
fingers  over  his  breast  and  he  did  the  same  to 
the  trees. 

And  he  went  on  and  came  to  the  cliff  where 
Vandaih  once  was,  and  he  did  the  same  to  it, 
putting  his  hand  to  it  and  rubbing  it.  And  he 
went  to  see  the  Sun. 

He  came  to  where  the  Sun  starts,  but  the  Sun 
was  not  there,  but  he  could  see  the  road  the  Sun 
takes,  and  he  followed  it.  And  that  road  was 
fringed  with  beautiful  feathers  and  flowers  and 
turquoises. 

And  he  came  to  the  tree  which  is  called  The 
Talking  Tree.  And  the  Tree  took  of  its  bark 
thin  strips,  which  curled  as  owl  fethers  do  when 
split,  and  tied  them  on  a  little  stick,  and  put  them 
in  Ee-ee-toy's  hair.  And  it  gave  him  four  sticks, 
made  from  that  one  of  its  branches  which  dipped 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    135 

to  the  south.  And  from  its  middle  branch  it  made 
him  a  war  club,  and  from  a  gall,  or  excresence, 
which  grew  on  its  limb,  it  made  him  a  vah-quah. 
or  canteen. 

After  that  he  went  along  the  beautiful  fringed 
road  which  the  Sun  travels,  and  came  to  the  place 
where  the  Sun  drinks.  And  he  took  a  drink  there 
himself,  putting  his  knee  in  the  spot  where  the 
Sun's  knee-print  is,  and  his  hand  where  the  Sun 
rests  his  hand.  And  in  the  clear  water  he  saw  a 
stone  like  the  Doctors'  Stone,  somewhat,  but  of 
the  color  of  slate,  with  a  zigzag  pattern  around 
it.  And  he  took  his  four  arrow-weeds  and  placed 
them  under  this  stone  and  left  them  there. 

And  he  went  on,  and  went  down  where  the 
Sun  goes  down.  And  he  went  to  see  Juhwertar 
Mahkai,  to  the  place  where  he  lived  with  his 
people,  those  who  sank  thru  the  earth  before  the 
flood. 

And  when  Ee-ee-toy  came  to  where  Juhwerta 
Mahkai  was,  he  said  to  him:— 

"There  was  an  Older  Brother,  and    his  people 

were  against  him; 

And  he  had  made  an  earth  that  was  like  your  earth; 
And  he  had  made  mountains  that  were  like  your 

mountains; 
And  he  had  made  springs  of  water,  like   yours, 

that  were  satisfactory; 
And    he  made  trees  like    yours,  and  everything 

that  he  made  worked  well. 


136  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  they  shot  him  till  he    bounced,    four  times 

on  the  open  ground; 

And  threw  him  with  his  face  to  the  earth. 
And  he  lay  there,  dead,  but  when  he  came  to  life 

he  used  the   strength  of   his  right  arm    and 

rose  up. 
But  things  were   changed,    and  looked   different 

from  the  old  times. 

He  examined  the  sticks,  but  none  suited  him; 
He  eyed  along  the  river,  that  green  snake,  which 

he  had  made,  and  found  the  sticks  that  pleased 

him. 

And  he  cut  those  arrow-weeds,  he  found  there,  in 
to  four  pieces,  and  blew  the  smoke  over  them. 
And  out  of  them  came  sparks  of  light,  that  almost 

reached    the  Opposite  World,  the  World  of 

the  Enemy,  where  things  are  different. 
And  when  he  saw  the  light  from    the   sticks    he 

smiled  within  himself; 
He  was  so  pleased  he  had  found  the  sticks  that 

suited  him. 
And  he  brought  the  Black  Fog   from   the  West, 

and  stroked  the  sticks  with  it,  and  so  finished 

them, 
And  from  the  Ocean  he  brought  the  Blue  Fog,  and 

stroked  the  sticks  with  it,  and  finished  them; 
And  from  the  East  he  brought  the  Fog  of  Light, 

and    stroked    the  sticks  with  it  and  finished 

them; 
And  from  Above  brought  the  Green  Fog,  and  put 

it   in   hiding,  and  there  secretly  stroked   the 

sticks  with  it,  and  finished  them; 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    137 

From  the  West  he  brought  the  Black  Snake, 
which  he  had  made,  and  bound  the  sticks  to 
gether,  and  finished  them. 

And  from  the  Ocean  he  brought  the  Blue  Snake, 
and  bound  the  sticks  together,  and  finished 
them; 

From  the  East  he  brought  the  Snake  of  Light, 
and  bound  the  sticks  together,  and  finished 
them; 

And  from  Above  he  brought  the  Green  Snake,  and 
bound  them  together  and  finished  them. 

And  then  he  rose  up,  and  with  the  first  step  he 
stepped  on  the 'great  doctors  of  the  earth  and 
sank  them  down; 

The  next  step  he  stepped  on  the  Speaker,  and 
sank  him  down; 

The  next  step  he  stepped  on  the  Slayer,  and  sank 
him  down; 

And  the  next  step  he  stepped  on  the  rushing 
young  maid  who  gathers  the  fruit  to  feed  the 
family,  and  sank  her  down. 

And  then  he  sank  down  himself,  and  walked  un 
der  the  earth's  crust  a  little  way,  and  then 
came  out  and  found  the  Light's  Road,  his 
own  proper  way,  and  walked  in  it. 

Where  he  found  his  springs  of  water,  which  he 
had  made,  with  their  green  moss  growing,  and 
dipped  his  hand  in  them  and  moistened  his 
heart; 

And  every  mountain  he  came  to,  which  he  had 
made,  he  entered  and  there  he  cooled  his 
heart; 


138  Aw-aw~tam      Indian  Nights 

And  rested  his  hand  on  every  tree  he  had  made, 
and  so  freshened  his  heart; 

And  came  like  a  ghost  to  the  place,  the  cliff,  where 
he  had  killed  the  man-eagle,  and  sat  there. 

And  there  was  Someone  there,  whom  he  did  not 
know,  who  asked  him  what  he  wanted,  com 
ing  there  like  a  ghost; 

Who  said:  4I  told  you  that  you  would  be  against 
my  people  and  the  earth!' 

And  from  there  he  went  to  the  East  and  strength 
ened  himself  four  times; 

When  he  arrived  at  where  the  Sun  arises; 

Where  he  came  to  the  four  notches  which  the 
Sun  uses  when  he  is  rising.  . 

And  where  the  Sun  steps  it  is  full  of  wind; 

And  where  the  Sun  puts  his  hands  it  is  full  of 
,  wind. 

In  spite  of  that  he  climbed  the  way,  the  way  in 
which  the  Sun  rises. 

And  he  went  Westward,  stopping  and  taking  his 
breath  four  times; 

Even  at  the  fourth  time,  still  going,  still  breath 
ing  westward. 

It  was  the  west-bound  road. he  followed,  the  road 
adorned  with  all  beautiful  fringes; 

Fringes  of  soft  feathers,  and  large  feathers;  and 
flowers  made  from  beautiful  trees,  and  tur 
quoises. 

And  he  went  along  this  road,  pulling  all  the  fringes, 
and  whenever  he  came  to  the  doctors,  toss 
ing  them  up  in  the  air. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    139 

And  there  he  came  to  Nee-yaw-kee-tom  Gas,  The 
Talking  Tree; 

And  he  came  to  it  like  a  ghost,  and  fell  down 
on  his  knees  toward  it; 

And  the  Tree  asked  him  why  he  came  like  a 
ghost,  and  what  he  wanted: — 

'I  have  told  you  that  some  day  you  would  be 
the  enemy  to  my  people  and  to  the  earth. 

There  the  Tree  pulled  off  its  bark  and  stuck  it 
in  his  head,  like  split  owl  feathers; 

And  it  was  its  middle  branch  which  it  cut  down 
in  fine  shape  for  a  club  and  slipped  under 
his  belt; 

And  it  was  a  nut-gall  from  its  limbs  which  it  made 
into  a  canteen  for  him. 

And  these  two  together  it  slipped  under  his  belt. 

And  it  was  the  branch  toward  the  ocean  which 
it  broke  into  four  pieces,  equally,  and  hand 
ed  to  him. 

And  from  thence  he  travelled  on,  on  the  Middle 
Road,  and  where  there  were  beautiful  fringes 
he  examined  them  as  he  went  along. 

And  from  the  Middle  Road  he  could  see  the  road 
on  either  side,  the  Road  of  the  Enemy. 

And  it  was  among  the  fringes,  where  he  was  pul 
ling  the  flowers  made  from  sticks,  that  he 
reached  the  Speaker  and  tossed  him,  too. 

And  there  he  reached  the  place  where  the  Sun 
drinks. 

And  tho  the  print  of  the  Sun's  knee  was  full  of 
wind,  and  the  print  of  his  hand  full  of  wind, 


140  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

there  he  knelt  and  drank  as  the  Sun  drinks. 
And  there,  in  the  clear  water,  he  found  the  Doctor's 

stone,  the  Dab-nam-hawteh,  which  is  square, 

and  there,  under  it,  left  the  arrow-weeds. 
And  he  started  on  from  thence  and  went  to  the 

Sunset   Place. 
Going  down  as    the    Sun    goes    down,  and  sl:d 

down  from  there  four  times,  to  the  home  of 

Juhwerta  Mahkai. 
When  he  sat  down  there  a  strong  wind  came  from 

the  West  and    carried   him  to'  the  East  and 

brought  him  back  and  sat  him  down  again; 
And  from  Above  a  strong  wind  came  and  tossed 

him  up  toward  the    sky,  and    returned    him 

back  and  sat  him  down  again. 
And  the  Black  Gopher,  his  pet  from  the  West, 

was  rolling  over; 
And  the  Blue  Gopher,  his  pet  from  the  South, 

was  rolling  over; 
And  the  Gopher  of  Light,  his  pet  from  the  East, 

was  rolling  over; 
And  the  Yellow  Gopher,  his  pet  from  the  North, 

was  rolling  over; 

Because  of  their  trouble  about  him." 
And  Juwerta  Mahkai  picked  up  Ee-ee-toy  like  a 

baby,  and  held  him  in  his  arms,  and  swept 

the  ground,  and  set  him  down  upon  it. 
And  blew  smoke  over  him,  till  he  felt  refreshed 

like  a  green  tree. 
One  kind  of  smoke  was  the  ghost-smoke,  which 

he  blew  over  him; 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    141 

And  the  other  kind  was  the  smoke  of   the   root 

called  bah-wiss-dhack. 
And  there  they  built  the  0-num  of  Light: 
Which  means  the  circle  of  those  great  ones  around. 

the  fire. 
And  thence  they  sent  the  Gray  Owl,  to  go  around 

the  enemy  and  breathe  over  them. 
Who,  when  they  heard  him,  were  shaking  with  fear; 
A  fear  that  pulled  out  their  thoughts  so  that  they 

knew  nothing  and  were  weak  in  arms  and  legs, 
And  they  could  not  remember  their  dreams,  and 

their  skins  became  like  the  skins  of  sick  people; 
And  their  lice  became  many,  and  their  hair  be 
came  coarse,  and  their  eyes  became  sore. 
And  they  chose  the  little  Blue  Owl  and  sent  him 

to  the  enemy,  and  he  breathed  over  them. 
And  he  was  invisible  because  of   his  blue  dark 
ness,  and  he  breathed  over  them  quietly. 
And  they  selected  a  Green    Road    Runner,   and 

sent  him  to  breathe  over  them. 
And  the  people  could  not  see  him  because  of  his 

green  darkness,  and  he  breathed  over  them 

quietly. 

And  they  selected  the  small  Gray  Night  Hawk; 
And  he  blew  a  gray  dust  all    thru  the    enemy's 

houses  and  swept  their  ground. 
And  their  springs  of  water  were  left  dry,  chocked 

with  driftwood  and  covered  with  cobwebs. 
And  their  kees,  their  houses,  were  full  of   soot, 

and  their  trails  like  old  trails; 
And  after  that  the  fresh  foot-tracks  could  be  seen— 


142  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  they  went  out  and  found  the  enemy  by  his 
fresh  tracks  and  captured  him,  for  he  had 
no  weapons. 

And  from  the  sending  out  of  the  birds,  even  to 
the  end,  all  this  is  a  prophecy. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    143 


NOTES  ON  EE-EE-TOY'S  RESURRECTION 

The  Story  of  Ee-ee-toys  Resurrection  is  perhaps  the 
most  poetic  in  the  series,  and  the  opening  picture  o7  him 
lying  on  the  ground,  lifeless,  with  the  elements  lament 
ing  over  him  and  the  little  children  playing  on  him,  might 
challenge  the  genius  of  a  great  artist. 

It  is  particularly  rich  in  trie  mystical  element   also. 

I  confess  that  I  am  not  very  confident  of  my  rendering 
of  those  of  the  opening  sentences  of  Ee-ee-toy's  speech 
between  "And  he  had  made  an  earth"  and  the  statement 
"And  they  shot  him,"  etc.  My  Indians  seemed  to  get 
hopelessly  tangled  over  archaic  words  and  other  impedi 
ments  here  and  not  at  all  sure  of  what  they  told  me. 
The  rest  I  think  is  correct. 

Here  we  came  to  the  mystic  colors  of  the  four  quarters, 
North,  South,  East  and  West  and  of  the  zenith,  the  Above, 
which  the  Pimas  reckoned  evidently  as  a  cardinal  point. 
If  their  mystic  power  was  derived  from  the  cardinal 
points,  might  not  their  inclusion  of  the  zenith  make  five 
also  sometimes  a  mystic  number?  I  think  that  it  perhaps 
was. 

Brinton  says  that  among  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan,  East  is 
Red,  West  is  Black,  North  is  White  and  South  is  Yellow. 

The  Speaker:  It  was  customary  in  the  villages  of  the 
Awawtam  for  some  individual,  perhaps  a  chief,  or  a 
mahkai,  or  some  representative  of  these,  to  mount  on  a 
kee,  or  other  high  place,  and  in  a  loud  voice  shout  news, 
orders,  advice,  or  other  important  matters  to  the  people. 
This  was  the  Speaker,  a  sort  of  town  crier. 

To  step  on  the  rushing  young  maid  who  gathered  the 
cactus  fruit  was  a  blow  at  the  enemy's  subsistence. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  custom  among  the  mahkais 
to  have  pet  animals  to  assist  them  in  their  magic. 

A  circle  of  bushes,  stood  up  in  the  earth,  forming  a 
screen  for  shelter  or  privacy,  was  called  an  onum.  One 
or  more  may  be' found  near  almost  any  Pima  hut. 


144  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

To  work  witchcraft  on  a  foe,  so  that  ha  be  left  weapon 
less  and  helpless,  and  off  his  guard  against  attack,  seems 
to  have  been  the  favorite  dream  of  whoso  went  to  war. 
Treachery  was  idolized.  There  was  no  notion  of  a  fair 
fight. 

Stories  of  mythical  beings  who,  tho  repeatedly  killed, 
persist  in  coming  to  life  again,  are  common  among  many 
Indian  tribes. 


STORIES  OF  THE  THIRD  NIGHT 


THE  STORY  OF  EE-EE-TOY'S  ARMY 


fcw^^^d 


after  Ee-ee-toy  was  thru  speaking 
Juhwerta  Mahkai  addressed  him,  and 
promised  him  his  help,  and  that  he 
£|  would  lead  out  to  earth  again  his  peo 
ple,  who  had  sunk  down  before  the 
flood,  that  these  might  fight  against  the 


people  whom  Ee-ee-toy  had  made  and  who  now 
had  turned  against  him. 

So  when  his  people  heard  this  they  gathered 
together  all  their  property  that  they  could  carry, 
to  take  to  earth  with  them. 

And  Juhwerta  Mahkai  said  to  Ee-ee-toy:  ttYou 
go  ahead  of  the  people  and  I  will  follow." 

And  they  went  out  in  bands. 

The  first  band  was  called  the  Mah-mahk-Gum. 
These  were  led  by  Ee-ee-toy,  and  their  color  was 
red. 

The  second  band  was  called  Ah-pah-pah  Gum. 
And  their  colors  were  white  and  yellow. 

The  third  band  was  called  Vah-vah  Gum.  And 
their  color  was  red. 

The  fourth  band  was  called  Ah-pah-kee  Gum. 
And  their  colors  were  white  and  yellow. 

The  fifth  band  was  called  Aw-glee  Gum.  And 
their  color  was  red. 

And  the  sixth  band  was  called  Ah-pel-ee  Gum. 
And  their  colors  were  white  and  yellow. 

And  these  bands  were  so  called  because  it  was 
by  these  names  they  called  their  fathers. 


148  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

As  they  were  going  to  start  they  sent  the  Yellow 
Gopher  ahead  to  open  a  way  for  them  to  this 
earth. 

And  the  gyih-haws  were  loaded  with  their  be 
longings,  and  stood  up  beside  the  ranks.  And  the 
bands  went  thru,  one  by  one. 

And  when  the  fifth  band  was  partly  thru  Toe- 
hahvs  looked  back  and  saw  the  gyih-haws  walk 
ing  beside  the  ranks,  and  he  was  amused  and 
said:  "I  don't  think  there  will  be  enemies  enuf 
for  us  to  kill,  we  are  so  many,  and  there  are 
these  other  things,  beside  us,  that  look  so  funny." 
And  he  began  to  laugh. 

And  as  soon  as  he  laughed  the  gyih-haws  stop 
ped  walking,  and  ever  since  they  have  never 
walked,  and  the  women  have  been  obliged  to 
carry  them. 

And  after  these  words,  too,  the  earth  closed 
up,  so  that  the  sixth  band  and  part  .of  the  fifth 
band  were  left  behind.  And  Juhwerta  Makai  was 
left  behind,  also,  and  only  Ee-e,e-toy  and  Toe- 
hahvs,  and  some  other  powerful  men,  went  thru 
to  lead  the  people. 

And  after  they  had  come  out  a  little  way  they 
came  to  a  place  called  the  White  Earth.  And  Ee- 
ee-toy  stopped  then  and  the  others  camped  with 
him. 

And  there  the  powerful  men  all  sang,  and  the 
people  joined  in,  and  all  dressed  themselves  in 
their  war-bonnets,  and  attired  themselves  for  war, 
and  had  a  great  war  dance  together. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    149 

And  they  went  on  again,  another  journey,  and 
camped  at  the  place  called  Black  Mountain,  and 
again  sang  and  danced  a  war  dance. 

So  they  went  on,  slowly,  camping  at  one  place, 
sometimes,  for  many  days  or  several  weeks,  mak 
ing  their  living  by  hunting  game. 

And  whenever  they  stopped  they  sent  scouts 
and  spies  ahead  to  look  out  for  the  next  stopping- 
place,  so  that  they  might  go  ahead  safely.  And 
this  went  on  for  many  years. 

And  there  were  no  deer  in  those  days,  and  Ee- 
ee-toy  said  to  the  wood-rat:  "Let  me  make  a  deer 
of  you,"  And  the  wood-rat  said:  "Moevah  Sop- 
hwah"  (all  right).  But  when  Ee-ee-toy  took  out 
his  knife  and  began  to  cut  at  his  skin  to  change 
him  into  a  deer,  he  cried  out  so  hard  that  Ee- 
ee-toy  let  him  go.  And  you  may  see  the  knife 
mark  on  his  chest  and  neck  to  this  day. 

And  Ee-ee-toy  asked  another  rat,  the  little  one 
with  coarse  hair,  called  Geo-wauk-kuh-wah-paw- 
kum,  if  he  might  make  him  into  a  deer,  and  the 
little  rat  said  "Moevah  Sophwah!"  And  this  little 
rat  was  brave,  and  let  Ee-ee-toy  cut  and  change 
him,  and  he  became  a  deer.  And  Ee-ee-toy  said: 
"You  shall  not  be  like  some  animals,  that  love  to 
roam  all  over,  you  shall  love  only  one  spot  and 
wish  to  stay  there."  And  that  is  why,  to  this 
day,  the  deer  do  not  care  to  leave  their  own 
places  and  wander  as  coyotes  do. 

So  there  were  now  plenty  of  deer,  and  the 
people  had  something  new  to  live  upon. 


150  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  there  were  two  brothers  who  were  especi 
ally  good  at  hunting  the  deer.  Their  names  were 
Hay-mohl  and  Soo-a-dack  Cee-a-vawt.  And  they 
hunted  as  the  people  marched,  and  kept  them 
well  supplied  with  deer-meat. 

And  there  was  a  doctor  among  them  who  took 
the  ears  and  tail  of  the  deer  and  worked  such 
witchcraft  on  them  that  the  deer  could  hide  away 
so  well  that  the  hunters  could  not  see  them.  They 
hunted,  as  the  people  journeyed  along,  but  all  in 
vain. 

'And  the  hunters  in  their  trouble  sought  to  get 
help  from  a  doctor,  and  they  happened  to  go  to 
the  very  one  who  had  helped  the  deer,  and  they 
told  him  they  wanted  help  to  find  the  deer,  for 
the  children  were  crying  and  hungry  and  they 
wanted  meat  to  feed  them.  And  the  doctor  said: 
"I  guess  the  trouble  is  that  you  look  for  the  deer 
in  the  old  places,  where  you  have  already  killed 
them,  If  you  will  hunt  for  them  in  the  "cheeks' 
(the  outlying  flanks)  of  our  line  of  march,  you 
will  find  them."  And  the  hunters  hunted  for  the 
deer  in  the  cheeks  but  could  not  find  them. 

And  they  went  that  evening  to  the  same  doctor 
and  told  him  of  their  bad  luck,  and  the  doctor 
said:  "If  you  will  look  for  them  next  time  in  the 
little  valleys  between  the  hills,  I  think  you  will 
find  them,  for  they  like  to  go  there." 

And  the  hunters  went  the  next  day  and  looked 
in  the  little  valleys,  but  could  not  find  the  deer, 
and  they  came  that  evening  and  told  the  doctor  of 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    151 

their  bad  luck.  And  he  said:  "If  you  hear  of 
Bnyone  who  chances  to  kill  a  deer,  even  if  it  is 
only  a  fawn,  bring  me  the  tips  of  its  ears,  and 
of  its  tail,  and  of  its  nose." 

And  the  doctor  said:  "I  want  you  to  bring  me 
these  because  a  deer  feels  first  with  his  tail  that 
some  one  is  after  him,  and,  second,  hears  with 
his  ears  that  some  one  is  near,  and,  third,  smells 
danger  with  his  nose.  And  that  is  why  I  want 
you  to  bring  me  these." 

The  next  day  these  brothers  were  in  a  crowd 
and  heard  that  a  fawn  had  been  killed,  and  went 
to  it  and  cut  off  the  tips  of  its  tail  and  of  its  ears 
and  of  its  nose  and  brought  these  to  the  doctor. 
And  the  doctor  took  these,  and  then  he  took  those 
which  he  had  used  at  first  to  hide  the  deer  with, 
and  with  these  in  his  hand  he  began  to  sing. 

And  in  his  song  he  asked  one  of  the  brothers, 
Haymohl,  for  the  turquoise  earrings  which  he 
wore;  and  then  he  asked  Sooadack  Ceeavawt 
for  the  beads  which  were  around  his  neck.  But 
the  brothers  kept  on  listening  to  his  song  and 
did  not  understand  what  he  meant, 

And  he  told  them  to  hunt  the  next  day  near 
the  crowd  of  people,  and  they  did  so  and  killed 
a  fawn,  and  took  it  home  and  had  meat  with  their 
family.  And  then  they  went  again  to -the  doctor; 
who  again  sang  his  song,  asking  for  the  same 
gifts.  And  this  time  the  brothers  understood  him 
and  Haymohl  said:  "O,  I  never  thought  of  these," 
and  took  off  his  ear  rings  and  gave  them  to  him. 
And  Sooadack  Ceeavawt  took  off  his  necklace 


152  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

of  beads  and  gave  them  to  him.  And  the  doctor 
told  them  that  the  next  day  they  were  to  hunt 
near  the  crowd,  and  they  would  find  plenty  of 
deer  anywhere  they  might  hunt  for  them.  And 
he  went  to  where  the  fawn  skin  was,  and  took 
pieces  of  its  skin  and  made  medicine-bags  for  the 
brothers,  out  of  the  cheek  pieces  of  the  fawn 
stretched  out  and  made  into  soft  buckskin,  and 
filled  these  with  the  scrapings  of  the  buckskin  and 
the  tips  of  the  fawn's  ears  and  of  his  tail  and  nose 
and  gave  one  to  each  of  the  brothers. 

And  the  brothers  took  these  bags,  and  wore 
them  at  their  belts,  and  the  next  day  they  went 
out  hunting  and  in  a  little  while  killed  a  deer, 
and  went  on  a  little  further  and  killed  another, 
and  after  that  found  plenty  of  deer;  and  from  that 
time  on  the  people  had  plenty  of  venison  again. 

And  the  people  marched  on  in  the  order  of 
their  villages;  and  a  member  of  one  village,  a 
woman,  was  taken  sick,  and  her  fellow-villagers 
stayed  with  her  to  take  care  of  her,  and  the  rest 
of  the  army  marched  on,  leaving  this  village  be 
hind.  And  these  remained  with  her  till  she  died, 
and  buried  her,  and  then  journeyed  on  till  they 
overtook  the  others. 

And  as  they  traveled  a  pestilence  broke  out,  a 
sickness  which  spread  thru  all  the  villages  and 
delayed  them.  But  a  doctor  told  them  to  kill  a 
doe  and  have  a  big  dance,  the  dance  that  is  called 
4tTramping  Down  the  Sickness,"  that  the  sick 
might  get  well.  And  they  did  this  and  all  their 
sick  ones  recovered. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    153 


THE  FIRST  SONG  OF  EE-EE-TOY'S  ARMY 

The  White  Earth  I  come  to  and  sing; 

Where  many  war-bonnets  are  shaking  with  the 

wind; 
There  we  come  together  to  dance  and  to  sing. 


THE  DOCTOR'S  SONG  TO  THE  HUNTERS 

Sahn-a-mahl!  * 

Haymohl  give  me  the  necklace! 
Sooadack    Ceeavawt     give     me    the    turquoise 
ear-rings! 


*This   word   was   not  translated— probably  archaic  and 
the  meaning  forgotten. 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  VAHAHKKEES 

(The  Pima  plural  of   vah-ahk-kee  is  vahp-ahk-kee,  but  I 
have  made  all  plurals  English,  as  more  understandable.) 


ND  after  this  they  were  not  sick  any 
more,  and  they  came  to  the  Gila  Coun 
try,  to  Ee-ee-toy's  land,  the  Land  of  the 
Vahahkkees,  and  here  they  divided 
themselves  into  four  parties,  of  which 
one  went  south;  but  the  doctors  united 
them  all  by  "The  Light/5  so  that  they  would 
know  about  each  other  in  case  there  was  a  battle 
in  which  any  needed  assistance. 

And  as  they  came  into  this  country  the  peo 
ple  there  were  stirred  up  with  alarm,  and  the 
great  doctor  who  lived  at  Casa  Blanca,  whose 
name  was  Tcheu-tchick-a-dah-tai  Seeven,  sent 
his  son  to  Stcheuadack  Seeven,  at  Casa  Grande, 
to  enquire  if  there  were  any  prophecies  that  he 
knew  of  about  the  coming  of  this  great  invading 
army. 

So  the  boy  went,  but  just  before  he  got  there 
he  heard  a  frog,  a  big  one,  which  Stcheuadack 
Seeven  kept  for  a  pet  and  to  assist  him  in  his 
work  as  a  doctor,  and  when  the  boy  heard  the 
frog  he  was  frightened,  and  ran  back,  and  when 
his  father  asked  what  he  had  learned,  he  said: 
"Nothing,  I  heard  a  noise  there  that  frightened 
me,  so  I  ran  home  again." 
And  his  father  said:  "That  is  nothing  to  be 


*The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    155 

afraid  of,  that  is  only  the  voice  of  his  pet,  his 
frog,"  and  he  sent  the  boy  orce  more. 

So  the  boy  went  again,  and  came  to  Stcheua- 
dack  Seeven  who  asked  him  what  his  father  had  sent 
him  for,  and  the  boy  replied  that  his  father  wan 
ted  to  know  if  there  were  any  prophecies  about 
the  coming  of  this  enemy,  and  how  he  felt  about 
it  every  evening. 

When  the  boy  returned  his  father  asked  him 
what  Stcheuadack  Seeven  knew,  and  how  he  felt, 
and  the  boy  said:  "He  does  not  know  anything. 
He  says  he  sits  out  every  night,  and  hears  the 
different  animals,  and  enjoys  their  pleasant  voices, 
and  in  the  morning  he  enjoys  hearing  the  sweet 
songs  of  the  birds,  and  he  always  feels  good,  and 
does  not  fear  anything." 

So  his  father  said:  "I  am  well  satisfied  that  I 
will  not  be  the  first  to  see  this  thing  happen.  It 
will  be  Stcheuadack  Seeven  who  will  first  see 
it,  and  it  will  not  be  ten  days  before  it  will  occur." 

And  in  a  few  days  Ee-ee-toy's  army  came  to 
the  village  of  Stcheuadack  Seeven  and  killed  all 
the  people  there. 

And  Geeaduck  Seeven,  who  lived  at  Awawt- 
kum  Vahahkkee,  told  his  people  to  flee :  and 
many  did  so  and  ran  to  the  mountains  and  other 
places,  but  the  others  who  did  not  run  away  came 
to  Geeaduck  Seeven's  house,  and  he  told  them 
to  come  in  there. 

And  the  enemy  came,  and  they  fought,  but  it 
was  not  easy  for  Ee-ee-toy's  warriors  to  fight  the 


156  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

men  of  Geeaduck  Seeven,  because  they  were 
nearly  all  inside,  but  his  men  managed  to  set  fire 
to  the  house,  and  so  destroyed  it,  and  killed  all 
who  were  therein. 

Then  Ee-ee-toy's  men  marched  on,  north,  to 
where  Cheof-hahvo  Seeven,  or  Long  Dipper 
Chief,  lived,  and  as  they  marched  along  they  sang 
about  the  places  they  were  conquering,  and  they 
sang  of  the  beads  that  they  expected  to  get  at 
this  village,  the  beads  called  sah-vaht-kih,  and 
there  was  an  old  woman  among  them  who  said: 
"When  you  get  those  beads,  I  want  them."  And 
so  when  they  had  conquered  that  vahahkkee 
they  gave  the  beads  to  her. 

And  they  went  from  there  to  the  home  of  Dthas 
Seeven,  who  had  a  cane-cactus  fence  about  his 
place,  and  Ee-ee-toy's  men  heard  ,of  this,  and 
sang  about  it  as  they  went  along.  And  they  took 
this  place  and  killed  Dthas  Seeven. 

And  then  they  went  on  to  where  the  Casa 
Blanca  vahahkkees  now  are  in  ruins ;  and  the 
great  doctor  who  lived  there,  the  same  who  had 
sent  his  boy  to  inquire  of  the  prophecies,  drew 
a  magic  line  before  his  place,  so  that  the  enemy 
could  not  cross.  And  when  Ee-ee-toy's  men  came 
to  the  line  the  earth  opened,  and  they  could  not 
go  further  till  one  of  their  great  doctors,  by  his 
power,  had  closed  it,  and  then  they  could  pass  it. 

And  they  had  a  great  battle  there,  for  the  place 
was  very  strong,  and  hard  to  get  into.  And  there 
was  a  doctor  among  them  called  Nee-hum  Mah- 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    157 

kaij  or  Thunder  Doctor,  and  they  asked  him  to 
use  his  magic  power  to  tear  the  place  down,  and 
he  tried,  but  could  not  succeed.  And  they  asked 
another,  called  Tchu-dun  Mahkai,  or  Earthquake 
Doctor,  and  he  tried  and  failed  also.  And  then 
they  asked  another,  a  little  man,  not  supposed 
to  have  much  power,  and  he  took  a  hair  from 
his  head,  and  held  it  up  by  the  two  ends,  and 
sang  a  song,  and  turned  it  into  a  snake.  And  he 
sent  the  snake,  and  it  struck  the  house,  and  shook 
it  so  that  it  broke  and  fell  down  from  above. 
And  then  Ee-ee-toy's  men  took  the  place,  and 
killed  everybody  there  except  Tcheutchickadah- 
tai  Seeven,  who  escaped  and  ran  on. 

And  one  of  Ee-ee-toy's  warriors  pursued  him, 
and  was  going  to  strike  him  with  a  club  when 
he  sank  down,  and  the  place  where  he  sank  was 
filled  with  a  fog,  so  that  they  could  not  see  him, 
and  he  got  out  on  the  other  side  and  ran  on. 
But  they  had  a  doctor  called  Ku-mi-wahk  Mah- 
kai)  or  Fog  Doctor,  and  they  had  him  clear  away 
the  fog  and  then  they  could  see  him  and  chased 
him  again. 

And  again,  when  about  to  be  struck,  he  sank 
down,  and  a  mirage  filled  the  place  so  that  they 
could  not  see  him,  for  things  did  not  look  the 
same.  And  he  got  out  beyond,  and  ran  on.  And 
they  had  a  Sas-katch  Mahkai,  or  Mirage  Doc 
tor,  who  cleared  away  the  false  appearance,  and 
again  they  chased  him,  and  were  about  to  kill 
him,  when  again  he  sank. 


158  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  this  time  a  rainbow  filled  the  place  and 
made  him  invisible,  and  again  he  ran  on  till 
their  Kee-hawt  Mahkai,  or  Rainbow  Doctor,  re 
moved  the  rainbow. 

And  once  more  they  were  about  to  strike  him 
when  he  sank,  and  the  quivers  which  heat  makes, 
called  coad-jook,  filled  the  hole,  and  again  he 
got  away.  But  they  had  a  Coadjook  Doctor,  and 
he  removed  it,  and  then  they  chased  him  and 
killed  him. 

And  they   went   northward   again   from   there. 

And  there  was  a  rattlesnake  who  had  never  killed 
an  enemy,  and  he  asked  a  doctor  to  help  him 
do  this,  and  the  doctor  told  him  he  would.  And 
the  doctor  told  his  pet  gopher  to  dig  a  hole  to 
the  village  of  the  doctor  who  lived  beyond  Od- 
chee,  where  is  the  place  called  Scaw-coy-enk, 
or  Rattlesnake  Village.  And  this  doctor  was  the 
speaker  of  his  village,  and  every  morning  stood 
on  a  big  stone  and  in  a  loud  voice  told  the  peo 
ple  what  they  were  to  do.  And  the  gopher  dug 
a  hole  to  this  stone,  through  which  the  rattlesnake 
crawled  and  lay  in  wait  under  the  stone.  And 
when  the  doctor  came  out  to  speak  to  his  people 
in  the  morning,  the  rattlesnake  bit  him  and  then 
slid  back  into  his  hole  again.  And  the  doctor  came 
down  from  the  stone,  and  went  into  his  kee,  and 
fell  down  there  and  died. 

And  after  taking  this  place  they  marched  to  the 
place  called  Ko-awt-kee  Oy-yee-duck*  or  Shell 
Field,  where  a  doctor-chief  lived,  named  Tcheu- 

• 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    159 

nasset  Seeven,  and  this  place  they  took,  and 
Ee-ee-toy  himself  killed  this  doctor,  this  being 
the  first  foe  he  had  killed. 

And  they  went  on  again  to  the  place  where  Noo- 
ee  lived,  called  Wuh-a-kutch.  And  Ee-ee-toy  said: 
"When  you  come  there  you  will  know  the  man 
who  killed  me  by  his  white  leggings,  and  when 
you  find  him,  do  not  kill  him,  but  capture  him, 
and  bring  him  to  me,  and  I  will  do  what  I  please 
with  him." 

And  Ee-ee-toy  had  the  Eagle  and  the  Chicken- 
Hawk  go  up  in  the  sky  to  look  for  Noo-ee,  for 
he  said  he  might  go  up  there.  And  the  Eagle 
and  the  Chicken-Hawk  found  Nooee  there,  and 
caught  him,  and  brought  him  to  Ee-ee-toy,  who 
took  him  and  scalped  him  alive.  And  Nooee, 
after  he  was  scalped,  fell/ down  and  died,  and  the 
women  came  around  him,  rejoicing  and  dancing, 
and  singing;  "O  why  is  Seeven  dead!"  And  after 
awhile  be  began  to  come  to  life  again,  and  lay 
there  rolling  and  moaning. 

And  Ee-ee-toy's  men  went  on  again  to  a  village 
beyond  Salt  River,  where  lived  a  chief  who  had 
a  brother,  and  they  were  both  left-handed,  but 
famous  shots  with  the  bow.  And  these  brothers 
put  up  the  hardest  fight  yet  encountered.  But 
when  the  brothers  were  too  hard  pressed  they 
fled  to  Cheof  See-vick,  or  Tall  Red  Mountain, 
and  there  they  kept  shooting  and  killed  a  great 
many  of  Ee-ee-toy's  men,  who  were  short  of  ar 
rows,  after  so  long  fighting  and  many  of  their 
bows  broken. 


160  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

Because  of  this,Ee-ee-toy's  men  had  to  fall  back 
and  surround  the  place. 

And  when  this  happened  the  band  that  had  gone 
to  the  south  knew  by  the  "Light"  that  it  was  so, 
and  came  to  help  them.  And  these  had  many  bows 
and  arrows,  and  beside  brought  wood  to  mend 
the  broken  bows,  and  wood  to  make  new  ar 
rows;  and  when  they  came  into  the  place  they 
gave  their  bows^and  arrows  to  Ee-ee-toy's  men 
and  made  themselves  new  bows  from  the  wood 
they  [had  brought.  And  these  men  were  the 
ancestors  of  the  Toe-hawn-awh  Aw-aw-tam,  the 
present  Papagoes,  and  that  is  why  to  this  day  the 
Papagoes  are  most  expert  in  making  bows  and 
arrows.  And  then  the  fight  began  again  and  the 
two  brave  brothers  were  killed. 

And  from  there  they  went  on  to  another  aw- 
awtkumvahahkkee,  where  is  now  Fort  Mc 
Dowell,  where  lived  another  seeven  whom  they 
fought  and  conquered. 

And  from  there  they  went  on  westward  thru 
the  mountains.  But  when  they  came  to  Kah- 
woet-kee,  near  where  is  now  Phoenix,  one  of 
the  chiefs  in  Ee-ee-toy's  army  said:  "I  have  seen 
enuf  of  this  country,  and  I  will  take  this  for  my 
part  and  remain  here."  And  he  did  so. 

And  the  bands  went  on  and  came  to  the  Colo 
rado  River,  and  there  one  of  the  great  doctors, 
called  Gaht  Mahkai,or  Bow  Doctor,  struck  Jhe 
river  with  his  bow  and  laid  it  down  in  the  water. 
And  the  water  separated  then  so  that  the  people 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    161 

were  able  to  go  over  to  the  other  side.  And  be 
yond  the  Colorado  they  came  to  a  people  who 
lived  in  holes  in  the  ground,  whom  they  found  it 
hard  to  fight,  and  they  asked  help  of  their  Thun 
der  Doctor,  and  when  the  people  came  out  of 
their  holes  to  fight  he  struck  right  in  the  midst 
of  them,  but  killed  only  one.  Then  they  asked 
help  of  the  Earthquake  Doctor,  and  he  was  able 
to  kill  only  one.  And  these  two  were  all  they 
killed.  And  these  people  were  called  Choo-chawf 
Aw-aw-tam,  or  the  Foxes,  because  they  lived  in 
holes. 

And  after  the  army  failed  to  conquer  the  Foxes 
they  returned  across  the  Colorado  River,  near 
where  is  now  Yuma.  And  here  again  the  Bow 
Doctor  divided  the  water  for  them.  But  before 
all  the  bands  were  across  the  waters  closed,  and 
some  were  left  behind.  And  these  called  to  those 
who  were  across  to  have  the  Bow  Doctor  hit  the 
waters  again,  that  they  also  might  get  there.  But 
those  who  were  across  would  not  do  this,  but 
told  them  that  there  was  plenty  of  land  where 
they  were  that  would  make  them  a  comfortable 
home.  And  those  left  there  were  the  ancestors 
of  the  present  Yumas  and  Maricopas. 


162  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


SONG  BEFORE  THE  FIGHT  WITH 
CHEOF-HAHVO  SEEVEN* 

In  the  land  where  there  are  a  great  many  galley- 
worms — 

I  will  get  the  doctor  out, 
It  will  lighten  his  heart. 


A  SONG  OF  THE  DOCTOR  WHOSE  SNAKE 
THREW  DOWN  THE  VAHAHKKEE 

I  made  the  black  snake;. 

And  he  went  across  and  wounded  the  vahahkkee. 


*This  song  is  evidently  imperfect,  for  in  the  context  it 
is  said  that  before  this  fight  they  sang  about  the  beads, 
sah-vaht-kih,  but  there  is  no  mention  of  them  here. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    163 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  EE-EE-TOY'S  ARMY 

AND  THAT  OF  THE  DESTRUCTION 

OF  THE^VAHAKKEES 

In  the  Story  of  Ee-ee-toy's  Army  we  come  to  an  amus 
ing  superstition  of  the  Pimas.  There  is  a  funny  little 
creature  in  Arizona,  related  to  the  tarantula,  perhaps,  which 
the  Pimas  say  is  very  poisonous,  and  which  is  certainly 
very  quick  in  motion  and  the  hardest  thing  to  kill  I  ever 
saw.  It  is  covered  with  a  sort  of  fuzzy  hair,  which  blows 
in  the  wind,  and  is  sometimes  red  and  sometimes  yellow 
or  white.  Now  there  seems  to  be  a  connection  in  the 
Indian  mind  between  this  way-heem-mahl,  as  they  name 
him,  and  this  story  of  Ee-ee-toy's  Army.  The  bands,  it 
is  related,  were  distinguished  by  certain  colors  —  some 
took  red,  and  some  yellow  and  white,  for  their  badge- 
color.  And  the  Pimas  of  today  suppose  themselves  de 
scended  from  these  bands,  and  some  clans  claim  that  the 
bands  of  the  red  were  their  forbears,  and  some  trace  back 
to  the  bands  of  yellow  and  white.  And  not  many  years 
back  there  was  a  rivalry  between  these,  and  the  wayheem- 
mahls,  having  the  same  colors,  were  identified  with  the 
bands,  and  the  Pimas  descended  from  a  band  of  a  cer 
tain  color  would  not  kill  a  wayheemmahl  of  that  color, 
or  willingly  permit  others  to  do  so,  but  would  eagerly 
kill  wayheemmahls  of  the  opposite  color.  If,  then,  a  Pima 
of  the  red  faction  saw  a  yellow  wayheemmahl,  running 
over  the  ground,  he  was  quick  to  jump  on  it;  but  if  a 
Pima  of  the  yellow  stood  near  he  would  resent  this  at 
tack  on  his  relation,  and  a  hair-pulling  fight  would  result. 
This  custom  is  probably  altogether  obsolete  now. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  fantastic  explanations  of  why 
gyihhaws  are  now  carried  by  the  women,  is  contradicted 
by  the  carrying  of  gyihhaws  by  various  women  in  pre 
vious  stories. 

The  closing  of  the  earth  cuts  down  the  six  bands  to 
four  and  a  fraction. 


164  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

Wardances,  and  extravagant  and  boastful  speeches 
prophesying  success,  seem  to  have  preceded  all  the  mil 
itary  movements  of  the  Awawtam. 

The  creation  of  deer  in  this  story,  by  Ee-ee-toy,  is  con 
trary  to  their  presence  in  earlier  tales,  as  in  that  of 
Ahahnheeattoepahk  Mahkai. 

The  careful  mention  of  the  sickness  and  death  of  an 
apparently  unimportant  woman  is  curious,  and  hard  to 
explain.  Perhaps  this  was  the  inauguration  of  the  pes 
tilence. 

The  Story  of  the  Destruction  of  the  Vahahkkees  has 
the  most  historic  interest  of  any. 

The  uniting  of  the  bands  by  the  "Light"  is  very  curi 
ous.  My  Indians  could  not  tell  me  what  this  was,  only 
something  occult  and  mysterious  by  which  they  had  clair 
voyant  ken  of  each  other's  needs.  Its  use  appears  in  the 
fight  at  Cheof  Seevick. 

The  resemblance  to  the  Israelites  crossing  the  Red  Sea 
is  remarkable  in  the  exploit  of  the  Bow  Doctor,  and  the 
crossing  of  the  Rio  Colorado. 

The  Choochawf  Awawtam  appear  to  have  been  cave- 
dwellers,  and  my  Indians  were  confused  in  memory  as  to 
whether  they  were  encountered  on  the  hither  or  far  side 
of  the  Colorado. 

The  statement  that  the  closing  of  the  waters  left  the 
Yumas  and  Maricopas  on  the  far  bank  of  the  Colorado 
is  likely  only  a  mahkai's  fanciful  attempt  to  explain  their 
presence  there.  As  the  Indians  of  the  Yuman  stock  speak 
an  entirely  different  language  from  the  Indians  of  the 
Piman  stock,  it  is  unlikely  they  were  united  in  the  orig 
inal  invading  army.  There  is  no  other  evidence  that  there 
ever  was  any  alliance  between  them  till  the  Maricopas, 
fearing  extermination  from  the  Yumas,  joined  the  Pimas 
sometime  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Comalk  Hawkkih  gave  me  this  account  of  the  coming 
in  of  the  Maricopas:  The  Yumas  and  the  Maricopas  were 
once  all  one  people,  but  there  was  a  jealousy  between  two 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas  165 

sons  of  a  chief,  one  of  whom  was  a  favorite  of  his  father, 
and  one  killed  the  other,  and  this  grew  to  a  civil  war. 
The  defeated  party,  the  Maricopas,  went  first  to  Hot 
Springs,  where  they  staid  awhile,  and  then  to  Gila  Bend, 
but  each  time  the  Yumas  followed  and  attacked  them  and 
drove  them  on.  Fearing  extermination  they  came  to  the 
Pimas  for  protection.  The  Pimas  adopted  them.  Now 
began  war  between  Yumas  and  Mohaves  on  one  side,  and 
Pimas,  Papagoes  and  Maricopas  on  the  other.  There  were 
only  two  battles  after  the  Maricopas  came  in,  but  in  the 
second  battle  all  the  Yuma  warriors  engaged  were  killed, 
and  the  Mohaves  had  to  flee  over  the  mountain,  and  only 
a  part  ot  these  escaped.  This  battle  was  fought  at  what 
is  now  called  Maricopa  Mountain. 

So  terrible  was  the  defeat,  that  to  this  day  the  Yumas 
hold  an  annual  "Cry,"  or  lamentation,  in  memory  of  it. 
Their  old  foes  are  invited,  and  if  any  Pima  or  Maricopa 
attends  he  is  given  a  horse.  This  war  reduced  both  Yu 
mas  and  Maricopas  to  a  mere  remnant. 

Since  then  the  Maricopas  have  lived  with  the  Pimas, 
and  in  customs  are  almost  exactly  similar,  except  that 
they  burn  their  dead,  and  still  speak  their  distinctive 
language. 

They  are  a  taller,  larger  race  than  the  Pimas,  more 
restless,  said  to  be  quicker  witted,  but  more  inclined  to 
vice,  and  to  be  rapidly  dying  out;  while  the  Pimas  yet 
hold  their  own  in  numbers,  despite  recent  inroads  of 
tuberculosis. 


THE  STORY  OF  SOHAHNEE  MAHKAI 
AND  KAWKOINPUH 


OW  when  the  bands  were  going  thru  this 
country  they  had  selected  the  places  for 
their  homes,  expecting  to  return,  and  each 
band,  as  it  selected  its  place,  drove  down 
short  sticks  so  as  to  know  it  again. 

And  after  returning  across  the  Rio 
Colorado  the  bands  went  again  to  these  places 
which  they  had  selected  and  settled  there. 

Only  the  Toehawnawh  Awawtam  (the  Papa- 
goes)  did  not  at  first  go  to  their  selected  place, 
but  went  on  beyond  Awn-kee  Ack-kee-mull,  the 
Salt  River,  to  where  is  now  Lehi. 

And  there  was  one  doctor  among  them  named 
So-hah-nee  Mahkai,  and  he  had  no  child,  but  he 
had  found  one  of  the  children  belonging  to  the 
country,  which  had  been  left  alive,  and  he  had 
adopted  it  for  his  own.  And  he  went  on  and  lived 
by  himself  at  the  place  then  called  Vah-kah-kum, 
but  now  named  Stcheu-a-dack-a-Vahf,  or  Green 
Cliff. 

And  the  Aw-up,  or  Apaches,  were  a  part  of 
the  original  people  of  this  country,  and  this  child 
which  Sohahnee  Makai  had  adopted  was  an  Apache. 
And  when  he  had  grown  up  to  be  quite  a  large 
boy  the  Apaches  planned  to  capture  Sohahnee 
Mahkai;  but  Sohahnee  Mahkai  knew  of  this^and 
told  the  boy  to  go  to  a  place  where  he  had  been 
clearing  lip  a  farm  and  to  find  the  stick  there  with 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   167 

which  he  had  been  cutting  down  bushes,  and  to  dig 
a  hole  there  under  the~bushes,  and;Tthen  to  come 
back  home  and  eat  his  supper.  And  after  he  had 
eaten  his  supper  he  was  to  return  to  the  place 
where  the-  stick  was,  and  hide  in  the  hole  under 
the  bushes  which  were  there. 

And  the  boy's  name  was  Kaw-koin-puh,  and 
he  dug  the  hole  under  the  bushes,  as  he  was  di 
rected,  and  returned  for  his  supper. 

And  then  Sohahnee  Mahkai  said  to  him:  "Now 
to-night  the  Apaches  will  come  to  kill  me,  but 
here  is  a  basket-box  which  I  want  you  to  have 
after  I  am  dead.  And  when  you  are  safe  in  your 
hole  you  will  hear  when  they  come  to  kill  me. 
But  don't  you  come  out  till  they  are  far  enuf 
away.  Then  come  and  find  my  body,  no  matter 
whether  it  is  here  or  dragged  away.  And  when 
you  find  it,  do  not  mind  how  stained  and  bloody 
it  is,  but  fall  upon  it,  and  put  your  mouth  to 
mine,  and  inhale,  and  thus  you  will  inherit  my 
power.  And  when  you  leave  my  body,  do  not 
attempt  to  follow  after  the  Apaches,  for  they 
would  surely  killl  you,  for  tho  you  are  one  of 
them  they  would  not  know  that,  because  you  do 
not  speak  their  language.  But  I  want  you  to  re 
turn  to  where  we  left  some  people  at  the  place 
called  Vik-kuh-svan-kee." 

So  the  boy  took  the  little  basket-box,  and  went 
to  his  hole,  and  early  in  the  evening  the  Apaches 
came  and  surrounded  the  house,  and  staid  there 
till  near  morning,  and  then  began  the  attack.  And 


168  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

the  boy  could  hear  the  fighting,  and  could  hear 
Sohahnee  Mahkai  yell  every  time  his  arrow 
killed  anyone;  and  he  could  hear  the  old  woman, 
his  wife,  shout  out  in  her  exultation,  too. 
And  it  was  after  the  sun  was  up  that  the  old 
woman  was  killed;  and  then  Sohahnee  Makai 
ran  out  and  the  Apaches  chased  him  and  killed 
him,  and  said:  %4Now  let  us  cut  him  open  and 
find  what  it  is  that  made  him  so  brave,  and 
enabled  him  to  kill  so  many  of  us."  And 
they  cut  him  open  and  found  under  his  heart  a 
feather  of  the  chicken  hawk. 

And  the  Apaches  took  that  feather,  and  that  is 
how  they  are  so  brave  and  even  if  there  are  only 
two  of  them  will  often  attack  their  enemies  and 
kill  some  of  them. 

And  after  the  Apaches  were  far  away  the  boy 
came  out  of  his  hole  and  found  the  old  woman, 
and  from  there  tracked  till  he  found  the  old  man; 
and  he  fell  over  him,  as  he  had  been  told,  and 
inhaled  four  times;  and  then  he  went  to  Vik- 
kuhsvankee,  but  he  got  there  at  night,  and  did 
not  attempt  to  go  into  any  house,  but  staid  out 
side  all  night  in  the  bushes. 

And  in  the  morning  a  girl  came  and  found  the 
boy,  and  went  back  and  told  the  people  there  was 
some  one  outside  who  was  a  stranger  there,  some 
one  with  short  hair.  And  they  came  and  stood  a- 
around  him,  and  teased  him,  and  threw  dirt  at  him, 
until  finally  he  cried  out:  "Don't  you  remember 
me,  who  I  am?  My  name  is  Kawkoinpuh  and  I  was 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    169 

here  once,  but  went  away  with  the  doctor,  So- 
hahnee  Makai.  And  now  the  Apaches  have  killed 
him  and  the  old  woman,  his  wife,  and  I  am  left 
alone." 

And  when  he  said  this  the  people  remembered 
him,  and  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  to 
a  doctor  named  Gawk-siss  Seev-a-lick,  who  ad 
opted  him,  and  he  was  treated  nicely  because  he 
was  a  good  hunter  and  used  to  keep  the  doctor 
in  plenty  of  game. 

And  the  doctor  had  a  daughter,  and  when  she 
was  old  enuf  he  gave  her  to  Kawkoinpuh  for 
his  wife.  And  Kawkoinpuh  staid  with  his  wife's 
people;  and  his  wife  expected  a  child,  and  wanted 
different  things  to  eat.  So  Kawkoinpuh  left 
home  and  went  to  the  mountain  called  Vahpkee, 
and  there  got  her  a  lot  of  the  greens  called  choo- 
hookyuh.  And  after  a  while  he  wonted  to  go 
again,  but  she  said:  "Do  not  go  now,  for  the 
weather  is  bad.  Wait  till  it  is  more  pleasant.'* 
But  he  said,  "I  am  going  now,"  and  he  went. 

And  this  time  he  was  hunting  wood  rats  in 
stead  of  greens,  and  he  had  killed  three  and  was 
trying  to  scare  out  the  fourth  one,  where  he  could 
shoot  it,  when  the  Apaches  came  and  surrounded 
him  a  good  >ways  off. 

He  saw  them  and  ran  for  home,  but  there  were 
many  Apaches  in  front  of  him,  and  they  headed 
him  off. 

But  he  jumped  up  and  down  and  sideways, 
as  Sohahnee  Mahkai  had  done,  shooting  and 


170  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

killing  so  many  that  finally  he  broke  thru 
their  ring,  and  started  for  home.  But  he  kept 
turning  back  and  shooting  at  them  as  he  ran. 
And  one  of  them  came  near  and  was  about  to 
kill  him,  but  he  shot  first  and  killed  the  Apache. 
And  then  another  came  near  and  this  time  the 
Apache  shot  first,  and  so  Kawkoinpuh  was  killed. 
And  when  evening  came,  Gawksiss  Seevalick 
came  out,  and  called  aloud,  and  invjted  the  peo 
ple  to  his  house,  and  asked  them  if  any  had  seen 
his  son,  Kawkoinpuh;  who  had  seen  him  last;  for 
he  knew  something  had  happened  him,  as  he  al 
ways  came  home  after  his  hunt,  because  he  loved 
his  home.  But  nobody  had  seen  anything  of 
Kawkoinpuh,  because  no  one  had  been  out,  the 
weather  being  bad. 

But  Gawksis  Seevalick  knew  the  boy  was 
killed,  because  he  was  a  doctor,  and  there  is  a 
being  above,  called  Vee-ips-chooly  who  is  always 
sad  and  who  mafces  people  sad  when  anything 
bad  has  happened. 

So  they  went  out  the  next  morning,  and  tracked 
the  boy,  and  came  to  where  he  had  killed  the 
wood-rats,  and  then  they  found  the  tracks  of  the 
Apaches,  and  then  found  a  great  many  Apaches 
whom  he  had  killed,  and  finally  they  found  his 
body. 

The  Apaches  had  cut  him  open,  and  taken  out 
his  bowels  and  wound  them  around  bushes,  and 
cut  off  his  arms  and  legs  and  hung  them  on  trees. 
And  one  of  the  men,  there,  told  them  to  get  wood 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    171 

and  to  gather  up  these  parts  of  Kawkoinpuh's 
body  and  burn  them.  And  some  of  the  people 
remained  behind  and  did  this,  and  then  all  went 
home. 

And  in  the  evening  Gawksiss  Seevalick  again 
called  the  people  together  and  sang  them  a  song 
to  express  his  grief. 

And  the  next  morning  he  went  with  his  daugh 
ter  to  where  Kawkoinpuh  had  been  burned,  and 
there  they  found  some  blood  still  remaining  and 
buried  it.  And  that  evening  again  he  called  the 
people  together,  and  said:  "You  see  what  has 
happened;  we  have  lost  one  of  our  number.  We 
ought  not  to  stay  here,  but  to  return  to  the  place 
we  first  selected."  And  the  people  took  his  ad 
vice  and  got  their  things  ready  and  started. 

And  they  went  slow  because  they  were  on  foot, 
and  it  took  them  four  nights  to  get  to  the  place 
where  they  wanted  to  go.  And  the  first  night 
there  was  no  singing,  but  the  second  night  there 
was  a  doctor  named  Geo-goot-a-nom-kum  who 
sang  a  song  for  them;  and  the  third  night  there 
was  atloctor  named  Geo-deck-why-nom-kum  who 
sang  a  song  for  them;  and  on  the  fourth  night  there 
was  a  doctor  named*  Mahn-a-vanch-kih  who  sang 
for  them  a  song. 


172  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE   STORY  OF   SOHAHNEE   MAHKAI 

In  this  we  are  given  a  most  graphic  and  pathetic  glimpse 
of  Indian  warfare. 

Notice  the  bushes  are  "cut  down"  (broken  off  more 
likely)  by  a  stick.  A  glimpse  of  the  rude  old  tools. 

Very  poetic  is  the  conception  of  Veeipschool,  "the  be 
ing  above  who  is  always  sad,  and  makes  people  sad  when 
anything  bad  has  happened."  A  personification  of  pre' 
monition. 


8      K 

lill 


THE  STORY  OF  PAHTAHNKUM 


when  they  came  to  their  journey's 
end  the  wife  of  Kaw-koin-puh  had  a 
baby,  which  grew  up  to  be  a  fine  boy, 
but  the  mother  cried  all  the  time,  where- 
ever  she  went,  on  account  of  her  hus 
band's  death. 

And  the  people,  after  they  had  settled  down, 
used  to  go  rabbit-hunting,  and  the  children  too, 
and  this  boy,  Paht-ahn-kum,  used  to  watch 
them  wistfully,  and  his  mother  said:  "I  know 
what  you  are  thinking  of,  but  there  is  nothing 
for  you  to  kill  rabbits  with.  But  I  will  send  you 
to  your  uncle,  my  brother,  whom  I  am  expecting 
will  make  a  bow  and  arrows  for  you." 

And  the  next  morning,  early,  the  boy  went  to 
his  uncle,  who  said:  "Why  do  you  come  so  early? 
It  is  an  unusual  thing  for  you  to  come  to  see  me 
so  early  instead  of  playing  with  boys  and  girls  of 
your  own  age." 

And  the  boy  replied:  "My  mother  said  she  was 
expecting  you  to  make  me  a  bow  and  arrows." 

And  his  uncle  said;  "That  is  an  easy  thing  to  do. 
Let  us  go  out  and  get  one."  And  they  went  out 
and  found  an  o-a-pof,  or  cat-claw  tree,  and  cut  a 
piece  of  its  wood  to  make  a  bow,  and  they  made 
a  fire  and  roasted  the  stick  over  this,  turning  it, 
and  they  made  a  string  from  its  bark  to  try  it 
with;  and  then  they  found  arrow-weeds,  and  made 


174  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

arrows,  four  of  them,  roasting  these,  too,  and 
strengthening  them;  and  then  they  went  home  and 
made  a  good  string  for  the  bow  from  sinew. 

And  then  the  boy  went  home  and  showed  his 
mother  his  bow  and  arrows. 

And  the  next  morning  the  children  went  hunt 
ing  and  little  Pahtahnkum  went  with  them  to 
the  place  of  meeting. 

And  they  found  a  quotaveech's  nest  near  them, 
with  young  ones  in  it,  and  one  of  the  men  shot 
into  it  and  killed  one  of  the  young  ones,  and  then 
the  children  ran  up  to  join  in  the  killing.  And 
when  Pahtahnkum  came  up,  one  of  the  men 
threw  him  one  of  the  young  birds,  and  said: 
uHere,  take  it,  even  if  your  mother  does  not 
wish  to  marry  me." 

And  the  little  boy  ran  home  and  gave  his  game 
to  his  mother^  and  when  she  saw  it  she  turned 
her  back  on  it  and  cried.  And  he  wondered  why 
she  cried  when  he  had  brought  her  game  and  was 
wishing  she  would  cook  it  for  his  dinner. 

And  his  mother  said:  "I  never  thought  my 
relatives  would  treat  you  this  way.  There  is  an 
animal,  the  caw-sawn,  the  wood  rat,  and  a  bird, 
the  kah-kai-cheu,  the  quail,  and  these  are  good 
to  eat,  and  these  are  what  they  ought  to  give  you, 
and  when  they  give  you  those,  bring  them  home 
and  I  will  cook  them  for  you."  She  said, 
further;  "This  bird  is  not  fit  to  eat;  and  I  was 
thinking,  while  I  was  crying,  thai  if  your  father 
were  living  now  you  would  have  plenty  of  game, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    175 

and  he  would  make  you  a  fine  bow,  and  teach 
you  to  be  as  good  a  hunter  as  there  is.  And  I 
will  tell  you  now  how  your  father  died.  We  did 
not  use  to  live  here.  But  beyond  this  mountain 
there  is  a  river,  and  beyond  that  another  river 
still,  and  that  is  where  we  lived  and  where  your 
father  was  killed  by  the  people  called  Apaches, 
and  that  is  why  we  are  here,  and  why  we  are 
so  poor  now. 

I  am  only  telling  you  this  so  you  may  know 
how  you  came  to  be  fatherless,  for  I  know  very 
well  you  can  never  pay  it  back,  for  the  Apaches 
are  very  fierce,  and  very  brave,  and  those  who 
go  to  their  country  have  to  be  very  careful ;  for 
even  at  night  the  Apaches  may  be  near  them, 
and  even  the  sunshine  in  their  country  feels  dif- 
derent  from  what  it  does  here." 

And  the  little  boy,  that  night,  went  to  his  uncle, 
who  asked:  "Why  do  you  come  to  me  in  the 
night?" 

And  the  little  boy  said:  "I  come  to  you  because 
today  I  was  hunting  with  the  bow  and  arrows 
you  made  me,  and  someone  gave  me  a  little  bird, 
and  I  was  bashful,  and  brought  it  right  home  for 
my  mother  to  cook  for  me,  and  she  cried,  and 
then  told  me  about  my  father  and  how  he  died. 
And  I  do  not  see  why  you  kept  this  a  secret  from 
me.  And  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  what  these 
Apaches  look  like,  that  they  are  so  fierce  and 
brave." 

And  his  uncle  said:  "That  is  so.     I    have  not 


176  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

told  you  of  these  things  because  you  are  just  a 
baby  yet,  and  I  did  not  intend  to  tell  you  until 
you  were  a  man,  but  now  I  know  you  have  sense 
enuf  to  wish  to  learn.  There  is  nothing  so  very 
different  or  dangerous  about  these  Apaches;  only 
their  bows,  and  their  arrows  of  cane,  are  danger 
ous." 

And  the  little  boy  went  on  to  another  doctor, 
who  said:  "Why  do  you  come  to  me?:  are  you 
lost?  If  so,  we  will  take  you  home."  But  the 
little  boy  said  to  him:  "No,  I  am  not  lost,  but 
I  want  you  to  tell  me  one  thing — why  the  Apaches 
are  so  dangerous — are  they  like  the  har-sen,  the 
giant  cactus,  with  so  many  thorns?"  And  the 
doctor  answered:  "No,  they  are  men  like  we  are, 
and  have  thoughts  as  we  have,  and  eat  as  we  do, 
and  there  is  only  one  thing  that  makes  them  dan 
gerous  and  that  is  their  bows  and  their  arrows  of 
cane." 

So  the  little  boy  went  to  the  next  doctor,  and 
this  doctor  also  asked  him  if  he  were  lost,  and  he 
said:  "No,  but  I  want  you  to  tell  me  just  one 
thing — why  the  Apaches  are  so  dangerous.  Are 
they  like  the  mirl-hawk,  the  cane-cactus,  with  so 
many  branches  all  covered  with  thorns?"  And 
the  doctor  replied:  "No,  they  are  human  beings 
just  as  we  are,  and  think  just  as  we  do,  and  eat 
as  we  do,  and  the  only  things  that  make  them 
dangerous  are  their  bows  and  their  arrows  of 
cane."  And  the  little  boy  said:  "I  am  satisfied." 

But  he  went  yet  to  another  doctor  and  asked 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    177 

him  also  why  the  Apaches  were  so  dangerous, 
were  they  like  the  hah-nem,  the  cholla  cactus? 
but  the  doctor  said  no,  and  gave  the  same  answer 
as  the  others  had  done,  and  the  little  boy  said : 
"I  am  satisfied,  then,"  and  went  back  to  his  uncle 
again  and  began  to  question  him  about  how  peo 
ple  did  when  they  got  ready  for  war,  and  what 
they  did  to  purify  themselves  afterward,  and  his 
uncle  said:  "It  is  now  late  at  night,  and  I  want 
you  to  go  home,  and  tomorrow  come  to  me,  and 
I  will  tell  you  about  these  things." 

So  the  little  boy  went  home,  but  very  early  in 
the  morning,  before  sunrise,  he  was  again  at  his 
uncle's  house,  and  came  in  to  him  before  he  was 
yet  up.  And  his  uncle  said:  "I  will  now  tell  you, 
but  we  must  go  outside  and  not  talk  in  here  be 
fore  other  people." 

And  he  took  the  little  boy  outside,  and  they 
stood  there  facing  the  east,  waiting  for  the 
sun  to  rise,  with  the  little  boy  on  the  right  of  his 
uncle.  And  when  the  sun  began  to  rise  the  doc 
tor  stretched  out  his  left  hand  and  caught  a  sun 
beam,  and  closed  his  hand  on  it,  but  when  he 
opened  his  hand  there  was  nothing  there;  and 
then  he  used  his  right  hand  and  caught  a  sun 
beam  but  when  he  opened  his  hand  there  was 
nothing  there;  and  he  tried  again  with  his  left 
hand,  and  there  was  nothing,  but  when  he  tried 
the  second  time  with  his  right  hand,  when  he 
opened  it,  there  was  a  lock  of  Apache's  hair  in 
his  hand. 


178  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  he  took  this  and  put  it  in  the  little  boy's 
breast,  and  rubbed  it  in  there  till  it  all  disap 
peared,  having  entered  into  the  little  boy's  body. 

And  then  he  told  the  little  boy  to  get  him  a 
small  piece  of  oapot  or  cat-claw  tree,  but  no,  he 
said,  I  will  go'  myself;  and  he  went  and  got  a 
little  piece  of  the  oapot,  and  tied  a  strip  of  cloth 
around  the  boy's  head,  and  stuck  the  little  piece 
of  wood  in  it,  and  then  told  him  to  go  home  to 
his  mother  and  tell  her  to  give  him  a  new  dish 
to  eat  from. 

And  this  stick  which  the  doctor  had  put  into 
the  boy's  hair  represented  the  kuess-kote  or 
scratching  stick  which  the  Pimas  and  Papagoes 
used  after  killing  Apaches,  during  the  purification 
time;  and  the  doctor  had  made  it  from  cat-claw 
wood  because  the  cat-claw  catches  everybody  that 
comes  near,  and  he  wanted  the  boy  to  have  great 
power  to  capture  his  enemies. 

And  his  uncle  told  the  boy  to  stay  at  home  in 
the  day  time,  lying  still  and  not  going  anywhere, 
but  at  night  to  come  to  him  a^ain.  "And  before 
you  come  again,"  he  said,  "I  will  make  you 
something  and  have  it  ready  for  you." 

And  the  little  boy  kept  still  all  that  day,  but  at 
night  he  went  to  his  uncle  again,  and  his  uncle 
had  four  pipes  ready  for  him,  made  from  pieces 
of  cane,  and  he  said,  "Now  tonight  when  the 
people  gather  here  (for  it  was  the  custom  for 
many  people  to  come  to  the  doctor's  house  in  the 
evening)  they  will  talk  and  have  a  good  time,  but 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    179 

after  they  are  thru  I  will  roll  a  coal  from  the  fire 
toward  you,  and  then  you  light  one  of  the  pipes 
and  smoke  four  whiffs,  and  after  that  slide  the 
watch-kee,  the  pipe,  along  the  ground  toward  me, 
as  is  the  custom,  and  I  will  smoke  it  four  times 
and  pass  it  to  my  next  neighbor,  and  he  will  do 
the  same,  and  so  the  pipe  will  go  all  around  and 
come  back  to  you.  And  even  when  it  is  out,  when 
it  comes  back  to  you,  you  are  to  take  it  and  stick 
the  end  that  was  lighted  in  the  ground. 

So  that  evening  the  people  all  assembled  as 
usual,  and  told  all  the  news  of  the  day,  and  about 
the  hunting  as  was  their  custom.  And  when  they 
were  thru,  and  had  quieted  down,  the  uncle  moved 
to  the  fire  and  rolled  a  coal  toward  Pahtahn- 
kum,  who  took  it  and  lit  one  of  the  pipes,  and 
smoked  it  four  times,  and  then  slid  it  slowly  (the 
pipe  must  be  slid  slowly  because  if  it  were  slid 
rapidly  the  enemy  would  be  too  quick  and  escape, 
but  if  it  is  done  slowly  the  enemy  will  be  slow 
and  can  be 'captured)  along  the  ground  to  his 
uncle.  And  his  uncle  took  the  watchkee,  the  pipe- 
tube,  and  smoked  it  also  four  whiffs,  and  passed 
it  on,  but  saying:  "Of  course  you  are  all  aware 
that  if  any  man  among  you  has  a  wife  expecting 
to  have  a  baby  soon,  he  should  not  smoke  it,  but 
pass  it  on  without  smoking  to  his  neighbor,  for 
if  you  smoke  in  such  case  the  child  will  not  be 
likely  to  live  very  long." 

And  so  the  pipe  passed  around,  and  the  boy, 
when  the  pipe  came  to  him  again,  buried  it  as 


180  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

he  had  been  told,  and  then  he  began  to  make 
this  speech:— 

"I  am  nothing  but  a  child,  and  I  go  around 
where  the  people  are  cooking  and  when  they  give 
me  something  to  eat  I  generally  suffer  because 
it  is  so  hot.  And  there  was  a  hunt,  and  you  gave 
me  nothing  but  a  little  quotaveech,  and  stuck  it 
under  my  belt  as  if  it  were  something  good  to  eat: 
and  when  I  took  it  home  to  my  mother,  and 
dropped  it  down  by  her,  she  turned  her  back  up- 
3n  it  and  began  to  cry.  And  when  she  had  done 
:rying  she  told  me  of  all  that  had  happened  be- 
;ore,  about  my  father's  death,  and  the  story  en 
ured  my  heart;  and  I  went  for  help  to  a  respect- 
ible  person,  a  doctor,  one  to  whom  a  child  would 
not  be  likely  to  go,  and  he  kindly  assisted  me, 
and  told  me  what  I  asked  of  him. 

And  I  wanted  to  be  revenged  on  the  slayers 
)f  my  father,  and  in  imagination  a  day  was  ap 
pointed  for  the  war,  and  I  went ;  and  the  first 
light  I  feared  nothing  and  felt  good,  and  the 
second  night,  too,  I  feared  nothing  and  felt  good, 
:>ut  the  third  night  I  knew  I  was  in  the  land  of 
he  Apaches,  an  enemy  with  shield  and  club, 
md  I  did  not  feel  good,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
he  world  was  shaking,  and  I  thought  of  what 
ny  mother  had  said,  that  the  land  of  the  Apaches 
vas  different  from  ours. 

And  the  fourth  day  I  went  on  and  came  to  the 
nountain  of  the  Apaches,  and  I  found  there  the 
Broken  arrows  of  my  father's  fight;  and  I  sat 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    181 

down,  for  it  seemed  to  me  the  mountains  and  the 
earth  were  shaking,  and  shook  my  knees,  and  I 
thought  of  what  my  mother  had  said  that  the 
land  of  the  Apaches  felt  entirely  different. 

And  the  next  day  I  went  on  and  came  to  the 
water  of  the  Apaches.  And  my  hair  lay  over  the 
water  like  moss.  And  I  looked  and  found  my 
skull,  and  I  used  it  for  a  dipper,  and  parted  the 
hair  with  it,  and  dipped  up  the  water  and  drank 
it.  And  when  I  drank  from  the  skull  I  felt  as  if 
I  were  crazy,  and  clutched  around  with  my  hands 
at  things  that  were  not  there. 

And  from  there  I  went  on  to  another  water, 
and  that  was  covered  with  the  white  war-paint  of 
my  hair,  which  lay  like  ashes  on  the  water,  and 
I  looked  around  and  found  my  skull,  and  drank 
from  that  water,  and  it  smelled  strong  to  me  like 
the  smell  of  human  flesh  and  of  black  war-paint. 

And  all  this  was  caused  in  my  imagination  by 
the  thought  of  my  dead  father,  and  of  how  the 
Apaches  had  gone  along  rejoicing  because  they 
had  killed  him. 

And  the  next  place  was  a  great  rock,  and  I 
sat  down  under  it,  and  it  was  wet  with  my  tears; 
and  the  winds  of  the  power  of  my  sadness  blew 
around  the  rock  four  times,  and  shook  me. 

In  the  far  east  there  is  a  gray  cousin,  the  Coy 
ote,  and  he  knows  where  to  find  the  Apaches, 
and  he  was  the  first  I  selected  to  help  me  and 
be  my  comrade,  and  he  took  my  word,  and  joined 
me;  and  stood  up  and  looked,  and  saw  the  Apaches 


182  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

for  me  and  told  me;  and  I  had  my  band  ready, 
and  my  boys  captured  the  Apaches,  who  had  no 
weapons  ready  to  injure  them. 

And  after  killing  them  I  took  their  property, 
and  I  seemed  to  get  all  their  strength,  all  their 
power.  And  I  came  home,  bringing  all  the  things 
I  had  captured,  and  enriched  my  home,  strength 
ening  myself  four  times,  and  the  fame  of  my  deed 
was  all  over  the  country. 

And  I  went  to  the  home  of  the  doctor,  taking 
the  child  I  had  captured,  and  when  we  were 
there  the  blue  tears  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the 
child  onto  my  boys  and  girls. 

And  all  of  you,  my  relatives,  should  think  of 
this,  and  be  in  favor  of  the  war,  remembering 
the  things  we  have  captured,  and  the  enemies  we 
have  killed,  and  should  make  your  singing  all 
joy  because  of  our  past  successes." 

And  after  the  speech  was  done,  feeling  it  the 
speech  of  a  child,  the  people  were  silent,  but  at 
length  Toehahvs  said :  "I  like  the  way  of  the 
child,  because  I  am  sure  he  is  to  be  a  powerful 
person,  perhaps  stronger  than  any  of  us,  and  I 
respect  him,  and  that  is  why  I  am  kind  to  him, 
and  I  want  that  we  should  all  take  a  smoke,  and 
after  that  you  will  get  over  your  feeling  of  his 
insignificance." 

And  then  they  all  smoked  again,  and  began  to 
talk  about  the  war,  and  of  the  things  they  lacked, 
but  the  boy  wanted  them  to  get  ready  in  four 
days,  telling  them  that  was  plenty  of  time.  And 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pirn  as    183 

so  they  all  began  to  get  ready  for  the  war,  mak 
ing  and  getting  ready  shields,  clubs,  bows,  ar 
rows,  shoes,  and  whatever  was  needed. 

And  so  the  people  departed  for  the  war,  and 
the  very  day  they  left,  the  mother  of  Pahtahn- 
kum  went  and  got  clay  to  make  the  new  dishes 
for  the  men  who  should  kill  Apaches,  for  she 
foreknew  that  many  would  be  killed,  and  so  she 
sang  at  her  work.  And  a  few  of  the  people 
were  left  at  home,  and  one  of  these  was  an  old 
man,  and  he  passed  near  where  the  mother  (whose 
name  was  Koel-hah-ah)  was  making  her  pottery, 
and  heard  her  singing  her  song,  and  he  said  to 
the  people:  "It  is  very  strange  that  this  woman 
who  usod  to  cry  all  the  time  is  singing  now  her 
boy  has  gone  to  the  war.  Perhaps  she  is  like 
some  wives,  who  when  their  time  of  mourning 
is  over  are  looking  out  for  another  man." 

And  the  war-party  went  by  near  where  Tawt- 
sitka  (Sacaton)  now  is,  around  the  mountain 
Chirt-kee,  and  west  of  the  Sah-kote-kee,  (Super 
stition)  mountains,  and  there  they  found  tracks  of 
the  Apaches,  and  paused,  and  the  boy,  Pahtahn- 
kum,  told  them  to  wait  there  while  he  went  for 
ward  and  found,  where  the  Apaches  were. 

And  Toehahvs  said  :  "I  will  go  with  you,  so 
we  can  help  each  other  and  be  company,  and  you 
will  feel  that  you  have  some  strength,  and  I  will 
feel  the  same." 

So  Pahtahnkum  and  Toehahvs  went  out  on 
their  scout,  and  went  up  an  arroyo,  or  washout 


184  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

valley,  In  the  mountains,  and  in  making  a  turn 
came  suddenly  upon  some  Apache  children  play 
ing  in  the  sand,  and  the  children  saw  them  and 
ran  up  the  valley  to  where  the  Apache  houses 
were.  And  the  two  scouts  stood  and  looked  at 
each  other  and  said:  "What  shall  we  do  now!  for 
if  we  go  back  the  people  will  blame  us  for  letting 
the  Apaches  see  us  first." 

And  Pahtahnkum  said:  "You  go  back  and  step 
in  my  tracks,  and  I  will  turn  into  a  crow  and  fly 
up  on  this  rock."  And  this  was  done,  and  when 
the  Apaches  came  they  could  see  only  the  coyote 
tracks,  and  they  said:  "There  are  no  human  tracks 
here.  It  must  have  been  a  coyote  the  children 
saw,"  and  they  went  back  home.  And  then  Paht 
ahnkum  flew  to  where  Toehahvs  was,  and  came 
down  and  took  his  human  shape  again. 

And  the  band  had  been  anxious  about  them, 
because  they  were  gone  so  long,  and  had  followed 
their  tracks,  and  now  came  near,  and  when  Paht 
ahnkum  saw  them,  instead  of  going  back  to  them, 
he  and  Toehahvs  turned  and  ran  toward  the 
Apaches,  and  all  the  band  rushed  after  them,  and 
they  took  the  Apache  village  by  surprise,  and 
conquered  and  killed  all  the  men,  and  then  killed 
all  the  women,  and  scalped  them  all. 

And  because  Pahtahnkum  had  been  so  brave, 
and  had  killed  many,  the  people  brought  all  the 
scalps  to  him,  and  all  the  baskets,  and  bows  and 
arrows,  and  other  things  they  had  taken,  and  laid 
them  around  him;  and  then  they  all  stood  around 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    185 

him  in.  circles,  the  oldest  in  the  middle  next  the 
boy,  and  the  others,  in  the  order  of  their  age,  in 
circles  outside.*  And  then  Pahtahnkum  began  to 
yell,  he  was  so  rejoiced,  and  he  threw  the  scalps 
of  the  Apaches  up  into  the  air,  and  then,  after 
them,  the  other  things,  the  bows  and  arrows,  and 
all  things  captured,  because  he  wanted  to  make  a 
cloud;  for  when  an  Apache  is  killed  it  will  rain. 

And  while  this  was  happening,  his  mother  was 
rejoicing  at  home,  knowing  all  that  was  happening 
her  boy. 

So  the  people  took  everything  the  Apaches  had, 
and  a  good  many  children  as  captives,  and  they 
returned  by  the  same  road,  and  before  they  got 
home  they  sent  a  messenger  ahead. 

And  when  they  got  home  they  presented  all 
the  property  taken,  and  all  the  weapons  and  all 
the  captives  to  the  mother  of  Pahtahnkum. 

Now  when  the  neighbors  of  those  Apaches 
heard  of  this  they  formed  a  big  war-party,  and  fol 
lowed  Phatahnkum's  trail,  but  when  they  came 
to  the  place  called  Taht-a-mumee-lay-kote  they 
stopped,  because  they  did  not  know  where  to  find 
water,  and  so  they  turned  back,  tho  from  there 
they  could  see  the  mountains  where  Pahtahn 
kum  lived. 

And  after  Pahtahnkum  had  gone  thru  the 
prescribed  purifications,  and  the  war-dances  and 

The  reason  why  the  older  people  went  inside  the  cir 
cle  was  to  protect  the  younger  ones  from  the  impurity  of 
anything  Apache,  and  they  went  inside  as  more  hardened 
to  this. 


186  Aw-aw-tam      Indidn  Nights 

rejoicing  proper  to  the  occasion,  he  again  formed 
a  war-party,  and  again  took  the  trail  after  the 
Apaches,  only  this  time  he  went  to  the  other  end 
of  the  Superstition  Mts.  And  there  they  saw 
the  lights  at  night  on  a  peak,  where  the  Apaches 
lived,  and  went  up  there  and  killed  them,  except 
the  children,  whom  they  took  for  captives. 

And  then  they  went  down  into  an  open  place 
in  the  desert,  and  there  placing  Pahtahnkum  and 
Toehahvs  in  the  center,  they  again  formed  the 
circles,  with  the  older  ones  nearest  the  middle, 
and  again  brought  all  their  trophies  to  Pahtahnkum 
and  Toehahvs,  who  threw  them  up  with  rejoic 
ing,  as  before. 

And  again  the  Apaches  formed  a  war-party,  and 
pursued  them;  and  again  they,  when  they  came 
to  the  low  mountains  south  west  of  where  Tawt- 
sitka  now  is,  were  frightened,  as  they  looked 
over  the  desert,  and  said:  "This  country  is  un 
known  to  us,  and  we  do  not  want  to  die  of  thirst," 
and  again  they  abandoned  the  pursuit,  and  re 
turned  home.  And  because  the  place  where  they 
made  fires  was  found,  these  mountains  are  called 
Aw-up  Chert-taw  to  this  day. 

And  again  everything  was  given  to  Koelhahah, 
as  before. 

And  once  more,  after  the  purification,  Paht 
ahnkum  formed  a  war-party;  and  this  time  they 
went  to  the  east,  and  there  again  found  Apaches 
at  the  place  called  Oy-yee-duck,  or  The  Field, 
because  there  the  Apaches  had  cultivated  fields, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    187 

and  here  they  fought  the  Apaches,  and  defeated 
them;  but  they  had  hard  work  to  kill  one  Apache, 
who  was  very  brave,  and  who  kept  his  wife  be 
fore  him  and  his  child  behind  him,  and  as  the 
Papagoes  did  mot  want  to  kill  these  they  could 
not  get  at  the  man.  But  finally  Pahtahnkum 
killed  a  man  near  him,  and  some  one  else  killed 
the  woman,  and  then  Pahtahnkum  killed  this 
man  and  took  the  little  boy  captive. 

And  again  they  went  out  to  an  open  place,  and 
formed  the  circles,  and  rejoiced  as  before. 

And  a  party  of  Apaches  pursued  them  again 
and  again  were  discouraged,  and  turned  back  at 
the  red  bluff  to  the  eastward,  where  they  dug  a 
well,  which  place  is  still  called  Taw-toe-sum  Vah- 
vee-uh,  or  the  Apache's  Well. 

And  again,  in  due  time,  a  war-party  was  formed, 
and  this  time  it  went  far  east,  and  there  was 
found  a  single  hunter  of  the  Apaches,  and  this 
man  they  killed  and  cut  up  and  mutilated  as  had 
been  done  with  Pahtahnkum's  father,  putting 
his  flesh  out  as  if  to  jerk  it.  And  they  went 
south-east  from  there  and  again  found  a  single 
hunter;  and  him  they  scalped  and  placed  his  scalp 
like  a  hat  on  a  giant-cactus,  for  which  reason  the 
place  is  still  called  Waw-num,  which  means  a  hat. 

And  Pahtahnkum  walked  behind,  for  he  was 
very  sad,  thinking  of  his  father. 

And  then  Pahtahnkum  returned  home,  having 
revenged  his  father,  and  this  was  the  last  of  his 
wars. 


188  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  once  more  the  Apaches  followed  him,  but 
stopped  at  a  place  near  the  Superstition  Mts. 
where,  as  there  had  been  rain  and  the  ground 
was  wet,  they  stopped  to  clean  a  field,  See-qua- 
usk,  or  the  Clearing,  but  they  gave  it  up  and  re 
turned,  not  even  planting  the  crop. 

And  his  mother  made  a  large  o//a,  and  a  small 
flat  piece  of  pottery,  like  the  plates  tortillas  are 
baked  on.  And  she  put  all  the  Apache  hair  in 
the  olla,  and  placed  the  flat  plate  on  top  to  cover 
it  with  grease-wood-gum  to  seal  it  up  tight.  And 
then  she  went  and  found  a  cave,  and  by  her 
power  called  a  wind  and  a  cloud  that  circled  it 
round. 

And  then  she  returned  to  her  people,  and,  plac 
ing  the  olla  on  her  head,  led  them  to  the  cave, 
and  said.  "I  will  leave  this  olla  here,  and  then 
when  I  have  need  of  wind,  or  of  rain,  I  can  form 
them  by  throwing  these  up,  and  so  I  shall  be  in 
dependent." 

And  after  this  Pahtahnkum  was  taken  ill,  and 
the  people  said  it  was  because  he  had  not  proper 
ly  purified  himself. 

And  he  went  to  the  tall  mountain  east  of  Tuc 
son,  and  from  there  to  other  mountains,  seeking 
the  cool  air,  but  he  got  no  better,  and  at  last  he 
came  to  the  Maricopa  Mts.,  and  died  there,  and 
his  grave  is  there  yet. 

And  his  mother  died  at  her  home. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    189 


THE  SONG  OF  KOELHAHAH  ABOUT  HER  SON 

My  poor  child,  there  will  be  great  things  hap 
pen  you! 

And  there  will  be  great  news  all  over  the  world 
because  of  my  boy. 

The  news  will  go  in  all  directions. 


190  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  PAHTAHNKUM 

In  this,  in  the  smoking  at  the  war-council,  appears  a 
curious  superstition  concerning  the  effect  of  a  man's 
smoking  upon  his  unborn  child. 

Another  superstition  appears  in  the  idea  that  the  killing 
of  an  Apache  and  throwing  up  of  his  accontrements  or 
scalp  would  cause  rain. 

I  have  a  boy's  bow  and  arrows  just  like  those  described 
in  this  story,  bought  of  a  Pima  child. 

War  arrows  were  a  yard  long,  with  three  feathers  in 
stead  of  two,  and  tipped  with  flint  or,  later,  with  iron.  But 
even  a  wooden  arrow  would  kill  a  deer. 

Bows  were  made  from  Osage  orange,  cat-claw,  or  o  a-pot; 
or,  better  still,  from  a  tree  called  gaw-hee.  Arrows  from 
arrow-weeds.  The  Apache  arrows  were  made  of  cane. 

The  Pimas  were  formerly  famous  for  archery,  and  the 
shooting  of  bird  on  the  wing,  and  of  jack  rabbits  at  full 
run  while  the  archer  was  pursuing  on  horseback,  were 
favorite  feats. 

The  Apache  well:  I  am  told  the  old  Arizona  Indian 
wells  were  not  walled  up,  and  the  sides  were  at  such  a 
slant  that  the  women  could  walk  down  to  the  water  and 
back  with  their  ollas  on  their  heads. 

Wells  are  now  obtained  without  great  difficulty,  but  the 
water  is  salty  and  often  alkaline  and  none  too  cool. 


STORIES  OF  THE  FOURTH  NIGHT 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  GAMBLER'S  WAR 


after    this,  for  a   long  time,  there 
$    A   E>!  was   Peace  toward  the  Apaches,  but  it 

:< 
s 


A  I 


>l  happened,  once,  that  two  brothers  of 
fc|  the  country  went  to  gamble  with  the 
Awup,  playing  the  game  called  waw- 
pah-tee  in  which  the  gamblers  guess 
in  which  piece  of  cane  a  little  ball  is  hidden. 

And  one  of  the  brothers,  after  losing  all  his 
goods,  bet  his  brother  and  lost  him,  and  then  bet 
the  different  parts  of  his  own  body,  leaving  his 
heart  to  the  last,  and  finally  wagered  his  heart 
against  all  his  previous  bets,  saying  it  was  worth 
more  than  they,  and  hoping  so  to  recover  all,  but 
he  lost  that  also. 

And  when  the  game  was  ended  the  Apaches 
killed  his  brother,  but  allowed  him  to  walk  away, 
and  he  returned  to  his  own  land. 

But  all  the  way  he  would  see  his  brother's 
tracks,  and  whenever  he  stopped  to  camp  he  would 
see  his  brother's  body,  where  it  lay,  and  how  he 
looked,  lying  there  dead;  and  when  he  got  home 
he  felt  so  sad  he  cried  aloud,  but  no  one  paid 
any  attention  to  him. 

And  when  he  got  home  his  folks  gave  him  food 
to  eat,  and  water  to  drink,  but  he  would  neither 
eat  nor  drink,  feeling  so  sad  about  his  brother, 
and  he  took  nothing  for  four  days. 

But  on  the  fifth  day  he  went  out   and  sought 


194  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

the  cool  shade  of  trees  to  forget  his  brother,  and 
went  upon  the  hills  and  stood  there,  but  he  could 
not  forget;  and  then,  in  coming  down,  he  fell 
down  and  went  to  sleep. 

And  in  his  sleep  his  brother  came  to  him,  and 
Jie  seemed  to  know  him,  but  when  he  tried  to 
put  his  arms  around  his  brother  he  woke  up  and 
found  he  was  not  there. 

And  he  went  home  and  ate,  and  then  made 
this  speech:— 

"My  pitiful  relatives,  I  will  pity  you  and  you 
will  pity  me. 

This  spread-out-thing,  the  world,  is  covered  with 
feathers,  because  of  my  sadness,  and  the  moun 
tains  are  covered  with  soft  feathers. 

Over  these  the  sun  comes,  but  gives  me  no 
light,  I  am  so  sad. 

And  the  night  comes,  and  has  no  darkness  to 
rest  me,  because  my  eyes  are  open  all  night. 

(This  has  happened  to  me,  O  all  my  relatives.) 

And  it  was  my  own  bones  that  I  raked  up,  and 
with  them  made  a  fire  that  showed  me  the  oppo- 
side  land,  the  Land  of  the  Enemy. 

(This  was  done,  my  relatives.) 

The  sticks  I  cut  for  the  number  of  days  were 
my  own  sinews,  cut  and  bound  together. 

It  was  my  own  rib  that  I  used  as  an  eev-a- 
dah-kote,  or  fire  rubbing  stick. 

It  was  my  own  bowels  that  I  used  for  a  belt. 

And  it  was  my  scalp,  and  my  own  hair,  that 
I  used  for  sandals. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    195 

It  was  my  own  skull  that  I  filled  with  my  own 
blood,  and  drank  from,  and  talked  like  a  drunkard. 

And  I  wandered  where  the  ashes  are  dumped, 
and  I  wandered  over  the  hills,  and  I  found  it 
could  be  done,  and  went  to  the  shadows  of  the 
trees  and  found  the  same  thing. 

On  the  level  ground  I  fell,  and  the  Sun,  the 
Traveller, was  overhead,  and  from  above  my  brother 
came  down,  and  I  tried  to  hug  him,  but  only 
hugged  myself. 

And  I  thought  I  was  holding  all  sadness,  but 
there  was  a  yet  stronger  sadness,  for  my  brother 
came  down  and  stood  on  my  breast,  and  the  tears 
fell  down  and  watered  the  ground. 

And  I  tried  to  hug  him,  but  only  hugged  myself. 

And  this  was  my  desire,  that  I  should  go  to 
the  powerful  woman,  and  I  reached  her  quietly 
where  she  lived. 

And  I  spoke  to  her  this  way: 

*You  were  living  over  there. 

You  are  the  person  who  makes  a  hoop  for  her 
gyihhaw  from  the  Apaches'  bow,  and  with  their 
arrows  makes  the  back-stop,  the  oam-muck^  and 
with  their  blood  you  color  the  gyihhaw  prettily; 
and  you  split'  the  arrow-heads  and  make  from 
them  the  ov-a-nuck,  and  tie  it  in  with  the  Apa 
ches'  hair,  weaving  the  hair  to  the  left  and  then 
binding  it  on.' 

And  this  way  I  spoke  to  her, 

And  then  she  gave  me  good  news  of  the  weak 
ness  of  the  Apaches  and  I  ran  out  full  of  joy. 


196  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

And   from   there  I    rose  up   and   reached  the 
Feather-Nested  Doctor,  Quotaveech,  and  I  spoke 
to  him  this  way: 
'And  you  belong  here. 

And  you  make  the  ribs  of  your  kee  from  the 
Apache    bows,    and    you  tie  the  arrows  across 
with    the    bow  strings,    and  with    the  sinews  of 
their  bows  you  tie  them. 

And  with  the  robes  of  the  Apaches,  and  with 
their  head-wear,  and  with  their  moccasins,  you 
cover  the  kee  instead  of  with  arrow  weeds. 

And  inside,  at  the  four  corners,  there  are  hung 
locks  of  Apaches'  hair,  and  at  the  corners  are 
the  stumps  of  the  cane-tube  pipes,  smoking  them 
selves,  and  forming  the  smoke  into  all  colors  of 
flowers— white  and  glittering  and  gray  and  yellow.' 

And  this  way  I  spoke  to  him,  and  he  gave  me 
the  good  news  of  the  weakness  of  the  Apaches. 

And  I  came  down  and  went  Southward  to  the 
other  doctor,  called  Vahk-lohn  Mahkai  and  there 
I  reached  him. 

And  this  way  I  spoke  to  him; 

'And  here  is  where  you  belong. 

The  Apache  bow  you  make  into  the  likeness 
of  the  pretty  rainbow,  and  the  arrows  you  make 
into  the  likeness  of  the  white-headed  grass. 

And  the  fore  shaft  of  the  arrows  you  turn  in 
to  water  moss,  and  the  arrows  into  resemblance 
of  flat  clay. 

And  the  hair  of  the  Apaches  you  make  into 
likeness  of  clouds.' 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    197 

And  this  way  I  spoke  to  him,  and  he  told  me 
the  news  of  the  weakness  of  the  Apaches. 

And  I  ran  out  of  the  house,  and  went  west 
ward,  and  found  the  old  woman  doctor,  Taw- 
quahdhamawks. 

And  I  said  to  her: 

lYou  belong  here. 

And  you  make  the  bow  of  the  Apaches  into 
the  hoop  of  the  game  the  Aw-aw-bopp,  the  Mar- 
icopas,  play,  the  rolling  hoop  that  they  throw 
sticks  after. 

And  their  arrows  you  flatten  up  with  your 
teeth,  and  wear  around  your  brows  like  a  crown. 

And  the  fore  shafts  of  the  arrows  you  have 
split,  and  painted  red  with  the  Apache  blood, 
and  made  into  gainskoot,  the  dice  sticks. 

And  the  Apache  hair  you  make  into  a  skirt'. 

And  this  way  I  spoke  to  her,  and  she  told  me 
the  thought  of  the  two  different  peoples,  the  Aw- 
awtam  and  the  Awup,  that  they  were  enemies, 
and  she  told  me  this,  and  I  went  out  from  there 
and  strengthened  myself  four  times. 

And  I  spread  the  news  when  I  got  home,  and 
set  the  docter  over  it. 

And  there  was  the  stump  of  the  doctor's  pipe 
standing  there,  and  smoking  itself,  and  I  imbibed 
it,  and  smoked  it  toward  the  enemy,  and  the 
smoke  changed  into  different  colors  of  flowers, 
white,  glittering,  grey  and  yellow,  and  reached 
the  edge  of  the  earth,  the  land  of  the  Apache,  and 
circled  around  there. 


198  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  it  softened  the  earth,  and  brought  fresh 
grass,  and  fresh  leaves  on  the  trees,  so  that  the 
Apiches  would  be  gathered  together. 

And  my  western  famous  enemy  went  and  told 
his  son  to  go  to  his  uncle,  to  see  if  it  was  so 
that  there  was  plenty  of  grass  and  plenty  of  things 
to  eat  there. 

And  his  son  went  and  said:  'My  father  sent  me 
to  find  out  about  these  things',  and  his  uncle 
said:  llt  is  so  what  he  has  heard,  that  we  have 
plenty  of  things  to  eat,  and  all  kinds  of  game, 
and  that  is  what  I  eat. 

You  go  back  and  tell  the  old  man  to  come,  so 
that  I  will  be  with  him  here/ 

So  the  boy  went  and  told  the  old  man  this,  and 
he  got  up  and  put  on  his  nose-ring  of  turquoise, 
and  took  his  cake  of  paint,  and  his  locks  of  hair, 
and  his  pouch. 

After  he  got  everything  together  he  started  out 
and  camped  for  one  night,  and  arriving  at  his  des 
tination  the  next  morning,  after  the  sun  rose, 
came  to  his  brother  and  called  him,  'Brother!* 
with  a  loud  voice. 

And  the  next  morning  the  brother  got  up  and 
went  hunting,  and  found  a  dead  deer,  and  brought 
it  home,  and  called  it  fresh  meat,  and  they  ate  it 
together. 

But  instead  of  eating  deer  they  ate  themselves  up. 

And  their  skins  became  like  sick  person's  skin, 
and  their  hair  became  coarse,  and  their  eyes  were 
sore,  and  they  became  lousy,  and  were  so  weak 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    199 

that  they  left  their  hands  beneath  their  heads 
when  they  scratched  themselves  lying  down. 

And  the  brother's  wife  went  and  gathered  seed 
to  eat,  and  found  it  easy  to  gather,  without  husks, 
and  thought  to  enjoy  eating  it,  but  when  she  ate 
it  she  ate  her  own  lice,  and  her  skin  became  as 
a  sick  person's  skin,  her  hair  became  coarse, 
her  person  lousy,  her  eyes  sore. 

And  my  enemy  in  the  far  east  heard  about 
food  being  so  plenty  to  eat  there,  and  sent  his 
son  to  ask  his  uncle  if  these  reports  were  so. 

And  his  father  got  up  and  took  his  war-bonnet 
of  eagle-feathers,  and  his  moccasins,  and,  using 
his  power,  brought  even  his  wind  and  his  clouds 
and  his  rainbow  with  him,  and  all  his  crops,  for 
tho  he  had  plenty  at  home  he  thot  to  find  more 
at  his  brother's  place. 

And,  camping  one  night  on  the  road,  he  came 
to  his  brother,  after  sunrise,  and  called  him 
'Brother'  with  a  loud  voice. 

And  everything  happened  to  this  enemy  from 
the  east,  and  his  brother,  and  brother's  wife,  that 
had  happened  to  the  enemy  from  the  west  and 
his  brother  and  brother's  wife. 

And  I  found  the  Apache  enemy  early  in  the 
morning,  lying  asleep,  still  needing  his  blanket, 
and  covering  himself  up,  and  captured  him  with 
out  trouble. 

And  there  I  captured  all  his  property,  and  took 
from  him  captives  and  many  scalps,  and  my  way 
coming  back  seemed  to  be  down  hill,  and  I 
strengthened  myself  and  came  to  the  level  ground. 


200  Aw -aw -tarn      Indian  Nights 

And  when  I  came  to  the  hollow  where  I  drank, 
the  water  rippled  from  my  moving  it. 

And  J  appointed  messengers  to  go  ahead  and 
tell  those  at  home,  the  old  men  and  women  waiting 
to  hear  of  us,  the  good  news  of  our  victory. 

And  after  sending  on  the  messengers  I  went 
on,  rejoicing,  carrying  the  consciousness  of  my 
victory  over  the  Apaches  with  me;  and  arriving 
home  at  evening  I  found  the  land  filled  with  the 
news,  even  the  tops  of  the  hills  covered. 

And  I  told  my  people  to  send  word  to  our 
western  relatives,  and  to  our  southern  relatives, 
and  our  eastern  relatives,  that  the  good  news 
might  be  known  to  all." 

After  this  he  called  the  people  together  for 
war,  and  the  first  evening  they  camped  a  man 
prophesied,  and  said: 

"Now  we  have  heard  our  war-speech,  and  are 
on  our  way,  and  I  foresee  the  way  beautiful 
with  flowers,  even  the  big  trees  covered  with 
flowers,  aud  I  can  see  that  we  come  to  the  enemy 
and  conquer  then  easily. 

And  the  road  to  the  east  is  lined  with  white 
flowers,  and  the  Apaches,  seeing  it,  rejoice  also, 
with  smiles,  thinking  it  for  their  good,  but  really 
it  is  for  their  destruction,  for  it  is  made  so  by 
the  power  of  our  doctors. 

And  in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  between  us 
and  the  enemy,  stood  the  Cane-Tube  Pipe  and 
smoked  itself. 

I  inhaled  the  smoke  and  blew  it  out  toward  the 
East,  and  saw  the  smoke  rising  till  it  reached  the 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    201 

Vahahkkee  of  Light,  and  up  still  till  it  reached 
the  Cane  of  Light. 

And  I  took  that  cane  and  punched  it  at  the 
corner  of  the  Vahahkkee,  and  out  came  the 
White  Water  and  the  White  Wasps,  and  the 
wasps  flew  around  it  four  times  and  then  they 
went  down  again. 

And  then  in  the  South  I  saw  the  Blue  Vah 
ahkkee,  and  the  Blue  Cane,  and  I  took  the  cane 
and  punched  it  into  the  corner  of  the  vahahkkee, 
and  there  came  out  Blue  Water  and  Blue  Wasps, 
and  the  wasps  flew  around  four  times,  and  then 
sank  down  again. 

And  in  the  West  there  stood  the  Black  Vah 
ahkkee,  and  the  Black  Cane,  and  I  took  the  cane 
and  punched  at  the  corner,  and  there  came  out 
Black  Water  and  Black  Wasps,  and  the  wasps 
flew  around  four  times,  and  then  went  in  again. 

And  in  the  North  stood  the  Yellow  Vahahkkee, 
and  the  Yellow  Cane,  and  I  took  the  cane  and 
punched  it  at  the  corner,  and  there  came  out 
Yellow  Water  and  Yellow  Wasps,  and  the  wasps 
flew  around  four  times,  and  then  went  in  again. 

And  on  top  of  this  vahahkkee  was  a  Yellow 
Spider,  and  I  asked  him  to  help  me,  and  he 
stretched  his  web  four  times,  and  there  found 
my  enemy. 

And  there  he  bound  his  heart  with  his  web, 
and  bound  his  arms,  and  bound  his  bow  and 
his  arrows,  and  left  him  there  in  the  state  of  a 
woman,  with  nothing  to  defend  himself  with. 


202  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  he  pushed  me  toward  where  he  had  left 
him,  and  I  captured  him  very  easily,  and  all  his 
property,  and  all  his  children. 

You,  my  relatives,  may  not  like  the  noise  of 
our  rejoicing,  but  it  is  only  for  a  short  time  that 
we  rejoice  over  the  enemy." 

And  they  camped  out  another  night,  and  an 
other  one  spoke,  and  he  said; 

"I  was  lying  in  ashes,  and  praying  the  dis 
tant  mountains  for  strength,  and  the  far  doctors 
for  power. 

And  there  was  a  Sun  that  rose  from  the  east 
and  followed  the  western  road. 

And  all  the  four-footed  animals  met  together 
and  called  themselves  relatives,  and  all  the  birds 
met  together  and  called  themselves  relatives,  and 
in  this  order  followed  the  Sun. 

And  the  Sun  rose  again,  and  brought  me  the 
See-hee-vit-tah  Feather,  the  Sunbeam,  to  wear 
on  my  head,  and  hugged  me  up  to  him. 

And  the  Sun  rose  again,  and  brought  the  Blue 
Fog,  and  in  the  fog  took  me  toward  the  enemy. 

But  instead  of  taking  me  to  the  enemy  it  took 
me  up  into  the  sky,  to  the  Yellow  Crow. 

And  the  Yellow  Crow,  as  a  powerful  mahkai, 
went  down  to  the  enemy  and  divided  their  land 
four  times,  and  slew  the  human  beings,  and 
painted  the  rocks  over  beautifully  with  their  blood. 

And  from  there  I  went  to  the  Yellow  Spider, 
living  on  the  back  of  the  mound  at  the  North, 
and  asked  him  to  help  me. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    203 

And  he  stretched  his  web  four  times,  and  found 
my  enemy,  and  bound  him,  and  pushed  me  to 
ward  him,  and  I  took  him,  and  all  his,  captive, 
and  came  home  reioicing. 

So,  my  relatives,  think  of  this,  that  there  will 
be  victory.  You  may  not  like  the  noise  of  our 
rejoicing,  but  it  is  only  for  a  short  time  that  we 
rejoice  over  the  enemy. " 

And  they  went  toward  the  mountains  where  the 
Apaches  live,  and  camped  there,  and  there  were 
empty  Apache  houses  there,  and  one  of  them  spoke 
using  himself  figuratively  as  a  type  of  his  people: 

"Perhaps  these  Apaches  have  gone  from  here 
to  my  house,  and  have  killed  me  and  have  dragged 
me  thru  the  waters  we  passed  coming  here, 
and  have  beaten  me  with  all  the  ,sticks  we  saw 
on  the  road,  and  have  thrown  ashes  over  me, 
and  maybe  these  are  my  bones  that  lie  here,  and 
this  dry  blood  is  my  blood. 

This  has  been  done,  my  relatives,  and  there 
in  the  East  is  a  Vahahkkee  of  Light,  and  with 
in  it  there  is  a  Butcher-bird  of  Light. 

And  I  asked  the  Butcher-bird  for  power,  and 
he  followed  his  Road  of  Light,  and  touched  the 
ground  four  times  with  his  tail,  and  came  to  me. 

And  he  went  on  the  road  that  is  lighted  by  a 
mahkai,  and  following  that  reached  my  enemy. 

And  my  enemy  thought  himself  a  good  dreamer, 
and  that  his  dreams  were  fulfilled  for  good,  and 
that  he  had  a  good  bow  with  a  good  string,  and 
good  cane  arrows,  but  the  Butcher-bird  had  al- 


204  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

ready  punched  his  eyes  out  without  his  knowing  it. 

And  all  the  animals  and  birds  of  the  Apaches 
think  they  have  good  eyes  to  see  with,  but  the 
Butcher-bird  has  punched  their  eyes  out  without 
their  knowing  it. 

And  the  winds  of  the  Apaches  think  they  have 
sharp  eyes,  and  the  clouds  of  the  Apaches  think 
themselves  sharp-eyed,  but  the  Butcher-bird  has 
punched  their  eyes  out  without  their  knowing  it. 

So  he  treated  the  enemy  like  that,  and  left  him 
there  as  a  woman,  and  then  pushed  me  toward 
him,  and  I  went  and  captured  him  easily. 

And  I  gathered  all  the  property,  and  all  the 
captives,  and,  turning  back,  looked  ahead  of  me 
and  found  the  country  all  springy  with  water,  and 
wasps  flying,  and  I  followed  them. 

And  ahead  of  me  was  a  road  with  many  flow 
ers,  and  a  butterfly  that  beautifully  spread  itself 
open  and  led  the  way,  and  I  followed. 

And  I  brought  the  dead  enemy  home,  and  from 
there  the  news  spread  all  over  my  country, 

So,  my  relatives,  think  of  this,  that  there  will 
be  victory. 

And  you  may  not  like  the  sound  of  our  re 
joicing,  but  it  is  only  for  a  short  time  that  we 
rejoice  over  our  enemy. " 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   205 

NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  THE 
GAMBLER'S  WAR 

In  this  we  are  .given  wonderful  glimpses  into  the  strange, 
fierce,  sad,  extravagant  poetry  of  the  Indian  speeches, 
which  seem  oftenest  inspired  by  the  passion  of  revenge. 
Notice  that  in  these  stories,  if  several  speeches  are  given 
in  any  one  story,  they  generally  have  a  quite  similar  end 
ing,  a  sort  of  refrain:  "So,  my  relatives,"  etc. 

This  story  ends  abruptly,  and  is,  I  think,  manifestly 
only  a  fragment.  Following  the  speeches,  which  were 
mere  boastful  prophecies,  should  have  been  an  account 
in  detail  of  the  actual  campaign,  as  in  the  story  of  Paht- 
ahnkum's  war. 


THE  STORY  OF  NAHVAHCHOO 

E-EE-TOY  was  once  wandering  along 
when  he  found  some  moss  that  had  been 
left  there  ever  since  the  flood,  and  he 
stood  and  looked  at  it,  wondering  how 
he  could  make  it  into  a  human  being. 
And  while  he  'watched  it  the  sun 
breathed  on  it,  and  it  became  not  a  man,  but  a 
turtle. 

And  he  wandered  on  again  and  found  some 
driftwood,  and  while  he  stood  wondering  how  to 
make  it  into  a  human  being,  the  sun  breathed  on 
it,  and  it  became  a  man,  but  he  could  not  see  its 
face,  which  was  covered  as  with  a  mask. 

And  the  turtle  and  the  masked  man,  thus  created, 
went  westward,  and  came  to  a  Blue  Vahahkkee, 
and  they  went  in  and  staid  all  night. 

In  the  morning,  when  the  sun  rose,  they 
were  frightened  at  the  blue  beams  that  shone 
thru  the  vahahkkee,  and  they  left. 

And  after  going  a  little  way  they  came  to  a 
Black  Road,  and  Black  Birds  flew  over  them  to 
keep  them  from  being  seen. 

And  they  came  to  a  Black  Night.  In  that 
night  was  a  Black  Bow,  which  stretched  as  if  it 
were  going  to  shoot  them,  so  that  they  were  afraid 
to  lie  down  all  night. 

And  the  next  day  they  came  to  a  Blue  Road, 
and  a  flock  of  Blue  Birds  flew  over  them,  and 
all  around,  striking  them. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   207 

After  a  while  they  came  to  a  Blue  Night, 
and  in  the  night  was  a  Blue  Bow,  which  stretched 
itself  threateningly  at  them,  as  the  Black  Bow  had 
done  the  night  before. 

And  they  could  not  sleep  for  fear  that  night, 
either;  and  the  next  day  they  came  to  a  White 
Road,  and  a  flock  of  White  Birds  followed  them, 
striking  them. 

And  they  came  to  a  White  Night,  and  in  that 
night  was  a  White  Bow,  which  threatened  them 
as  the  others  had  done,  so  that  again  they. could 
not  sleep. 

And  the  next  day  they  had  a  similar  experience, 
only  it  was  a  Yellow  Road,  with  Yellow  Birds, 
and  a  Yellow  Night  with  a  Yellow  Bow. 

The  next  day  there  was  no  danger  any  more, 
and  they  went  on  and  came  to  a  mountain,  Co- 
so-vah-taw-up-kih,  or  Twisted  Neck  Mountain, 
and  there  the  Nahvahchoo  (masked  man),  having 
run  ahead,  left  the  turtle  behind,  and  when  even 
ing  came  sat  down  and  waited  for  the  turtle  to 
come  up.  But  the  turtle  was  too  far  behind,  and 
when  night  came  stopped  where  he  was,  and  made 
a  fire,  and  made  corn  and  pumpkins,  and  roast 
ed  the  corn  and  set  the  pumpkins  around  the  fire, 
as  the  Indians  do,  to  scorch  them  before  putting 
them  in  the  ashes. 

And  Nahvahchoo  heard  the  popping  sound  of 
the  cooking,  and  came  running  back,  and  tried 
to  steal  a  piece  of  the  fire  to  have  one  of  his  own, 
but  the  turtle  would  net  let  him.  And  so  the 


208  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

Nahvahchoo  went  off  and  made  a  fire  of  his  own, 
and  corn  and  pumpkins  of  his  own,  and  cooked 
them  as  the  turtle  had  done.  - 

In  the  morning,  after  they  had  feasted  on  the 
pumpkin  and  corn,  the  turtle,  Wee-hee-kee-nee, 
sank  down  and  went  under  the  earth  to  the  ocean, 
and  made  that  his  home,  and  Nahvahchoo  sank 
down  and  went  in  the  same  direction,  but  not  so 
far,  coming  up  on  the  sea  shore. 

And  Nahvahchoo  went  along  the  sea-shore,  to 
ward  the  east,  till  he  came  to  a  great  deal  of  drift 
wood,  and  many  flowers,  and  handled  all  these,  and 
got  their  strength,  and  made  his  home  in  the  east. 

One  day  Nahvahchoo  heard  the  earth  shak 
ing,  and  ran  out  of  his  house  to  try  and  find 
where  the  shaking  came  from,  and  he  went  south 
and  did  not  feel  it,  and  went  west  and  felt  it  a 
little,  and  went  north  and  felt  it  more.  And  so 
he  ran  back  and  put  on  his  mask,  and  took  his 
bow,  and  went  north.  And  the  first  time  he 
stopped  and  listened  he  heard  it  somewhat,  and 
the  next  time  he  heard  it  more,  and  the  third  time 
still  more,  and  the  fourth  time  "he  came  to  where 
many  people  were  singing  the  song  Wah-hee- 
hee-vee,  and  dancing  the  dance  Vee-pee-nim,  in 
which  the  dancers  wear  gourd  masks,  on  their 
faces,  pierced  full  of  little  holes  to  let  the  light  thru. 

And  they  were  dancing,  too,  the  dance  Kawk- 
spahk-kum,  in  which  the  dancers  wear  a  cloth 
mask,  like  Nahvahchoo,  with  a  little  gourd,  full 
of  holes,  over  the  mouth-hole,  to  sing  thru. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    209 

And  they  were  dancing  also  the  dance  Tawt- 
a-kum^  in  which  the  dancer  wears  a  bonnet  of 
cloth,  and  a  mask  like  Nahvahchoo  does. 

And  the  people  sitting  around  in  these  dances 
had  little  rods  which  they  rubbed  upon  notched 
sticks,  in  time  to  the  singing  and  the  dancing. 

At  first  Nahvahchoo  was  greatly  excited  by  all 
this  dancing,  for  all  these  people, seemed  to  do 
nothing  else  but  sing  and  dance,  and  make  the 
rods  and  notched  sticks  and  stand  them  up  in 
bunches;  but  after  a  few  days  he  began  to  think 
of  game,  for  he  was  a  great  hunter,  and  he  went 
out  and  found  the  tracks  of  a  deer. 

And  measuring  these  with  his  arrow  he  laughed, 
covering  his  mouth  with  his  hand,  and  said:  "This 
deer  will  not  run  very  fast,  I  could  catch  him 
myself."  For  a  deer  that  measures  a  good  way 
between  his  tracks  is  long-bodied,  and  cannot  run 
fast,  while  a  deer  that  measures  short  between 
tracks  has  a  short  body,  and  jumps  quicker. 

And  he  followed  the  deer,  which  heard  him 
coming,  and  began  to  run,  end  when  Nahvahchoo 
saw  by  its  tracks  that  it  was  running,  he  ran,  too, 
and  getting  on  a  hill  saw  the  dust  of  its  running 
away  off;  and  he  ran  after  it,  and  when  ht  came 
to  the  next  hill  it  was  close,  and  he  ran  down, 
and  killed  ir,  and  took  it  back  to  the  singers,  and 
they  fell  ravenously  upon  it  and  ate  it  all  up, 
not  leaving  him  even  the  bones. 

Nahvahchoo  sat  off  a  little  way  and  watched 
them,  and  one  of  their  speakers  addressed  him, 


210  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

and  said:  "We  know  you,  who  you  are.  You 
are  a  great  doctor,  and  a  great  hunter,  and  a  great 
farmer,  and  a  powerful  man  every  way.  And 
maybe  you  expected  us  to  join  in  your  hunt  and 
help  you  carry  the  game.  But  we  want  you  to 
join  us,  and  become  a  singer,  and  you  will  have 
plenty  of  corn  and  beans  to  eat,  and  you  will  find 
that  such  food  will  last,  while,  as  you  see,  the 
game,  when  you  bring  it  in,  lasts  but  a  little 
while." 

So  Nahvahchoo  staid  with  them  and  became 
a  singer,  and  after  a  while  the  people  told  him 
to  go  to  a  certain  vahahkkee,  and  said:  "You 
will  find  something  there  with  which  you  will  be 
pleased.  And  then  go  to  the  opposite  one,  and 
you  will  find  that  with  which  you  will  be  still 
more  pleased. 

And  one  of  these  vahahkkees  was  called  See- 
pook  (Red-bird)  Vahahkkee  and  the  other  was 
named  Wah-choo-kook-kee  (Oriole)  Vahahkkee. 
—But  tho  they  told  him  to  go  to  these  they 
did  not  allow  him  to  do  so,  but  one  day  he  slipped 
away,  when  they  were  not  looking,  and  opened 
one,  and  saw  in  it  many  wonderful  things,  clouds 
forming  and  sprinkling  all  the  time;  and  in  the 
other  it  was  the  .same. 

And  one  was  covered  with  red  flowers,  and 
the  other  with  yellow  flowers,  and  where  they 
came  together  the  mingling  of  red  and  yellow  was 
very  pretty. 

At   the  door  of  each  vahahkkee  was  a  corn- 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    211 

mill.  And  he  stole  one  of  these  and  went  west. 
But  after  a  while  he  stopped  and  said:4'  I  won 
der  what  is  going  to  happen,  for  the  east  is  all 
green  and  the  west  is  of  the  same  color." 

But  he  ran  on,  and  the  clouds  came  over  him, 
and  it  began  to  sprinkle,  and  then  to  rain,  and 
then  the  water  began  to  run,  and  get  deeper  and 
deeper,  and  he  said;44  This  is  happening  to  me 
because  I  stole  this  mill,  but  I  am  not  going  to 
let  it  go,  I  am  going  to  keep  it." 

And  he  ran  on  and  came  to  where  he  had  sep 
arated  from  Weeheekeenee,  and  went  on  and  over 
Cosovahtawupkih,  the  Twisted  Neck  Mountain. 

And  on  that  mountain  he  felt  rather  faint,  and 
put  his  hand  in  his  pouch  and  found  a  root  and 
chewed  it,  the  root  Cheek-kuh-pool-tak,  and 
breathed  it  out,  and  it  stopped  raining. 

And  he  went  on  to  the  Quojata  Mountain,  and 
sat  there  and  took  a  smoke;  and  then  on  to  Ahn- 
naykum;  and  then  to  Odchee,  where  he  left  the 
mill;  and  then  to  Kee-ahk  Toe-ahk,  where  he  also 
rested  and  took  a  smoke;  and  then  he  went  home. 

And  when  Nahvahchoo  arrived  home  he  made 
a  speech: 

44Where  shall  we  hear  the  talk  that  will  make 
us  drunk  and  dizzy  with  the  flowers  of  eloquence? 

There  was  near  the  water  the  driftwood  lying, 
and  from  above  the  sun  breathed  doWn  and  a 
being  was  made. 

And  it  was  the  beautiful  daybreak  that  I  took 
and  wiped  its  face  with,  and  the  remains  of  dark 
ness  that  I  painted  its  face  with. 


212  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

And  there  were  all  kinds  of  bird's  feathers  that 
I  made  a  feather  bonnet  from. 

And  there  were  joining  wasps  that  came  and 
flapped  on  the  bonnet. 

And  there  were  many  butterflies  that  flapped 
their  wings  upon  the  bonnet,  upon  its  feathers. 

And  it  was  from  the  rainbow  that  I  made  its 
bow,  and  from  the  Milky  Way  that  I  made  its 
arrow. 

From  a  red  skin  it  was  that  I  made  its  saw-suh- 
buh,  to  cover  its  arm  for  the  bow-string  not  to 
injure  it. 

And  it  was  a  red  kuess-kote  that  I  made  and 
put  in  its  hair  to  scratch  with. 

And  it  was  the  gray  fog  that  I  fastened  in  its 
shoulders  for  its  mantle. 

And  the  strong  wind  it  was  that  I  used  for  its 
girdle,  around  its  waist. 

In  the  middle  of  the  earth  lay  a  square  water 
moss,  and  the  sun  breathed  on  it  and  it  turned 
into  a  creature,  a  turtle. 

And  from  there  the  Driftwood-Being  went  west 
with  it. 

From  there  they  went  westward  and  watched 
the  sun  rise  in  the  Blue  Vahahkkee,  and  were 
frightened,  and  returned. 

From  there  they  came  to  a  Black  Road,  and 
Black  Birds  followed  them,  and  to  a  Black  Night 
wherein  a  Black  Bow  frightened  them. 

And  from  there  they  came  to  a  Blue  Road, 
with  Blue  Birds  following,  and  to  a  Blue  Night 
with  a  Blue  Bow  to  frighten  them. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    213 

And  from  there  they  came  to  a  White  Road 
with  White  Birds  following,  and  a  White  Night 
with  a  White  Bow  to  threaten  them. 

And  the  next  day  it  was  a  Yellow  Road  and 
Yellow  Birds,  and  after  that  a  Yellow  Night  and 
a  Yellow  Bow. 

And  there  was  a  square  water  full  of  ice,  and 
he  went  around  it  four  times. 

And  there  he  found  Seepook  Vahahkkee,  with 
its  red  flowers,  and  Wahchookookkee  Vahahk 
kee  with  its  yellow  flowers,  and  there  he  got  the 
everlasting  corn-mill,  and  went  westward  and 
strengthened  himself  four  times. 

And  as  he  went  westward  there  came  a  wind 
which  felt  good  and  refreshed  him,  and  pleasant 
clouds  that  sprinkled  him  with  water,  and  then 
there  was  rain,  and  the  rattling  of  running  water, 
and  he  went  on  his  road  rejoicing. 

And  he  reached  the  Twisted  Neck  Mountain, 
and  there  he  felt  faint  a  little,  and  took  from  his 
pouch  the  root  Cheekkuhpooltak,  and  chewed 
it,  and  breathed  it  out,  and  was  refreshed  and 
went  on. 

And  he  refreshed  himself  four  times  and  went 
on,  and  found  Tonedum  Vahahkkee,  the  Vah 
ahkkee  of  Light,  and  there  he  gave  his  power  to 
the  people  who  were  gathered  together,  and  said: 
'My  relatives,  I  want  you  to  think  of  this,  that 
our  country  will  be  more  beautiful  and  produce 
more,  because  you  know  our  country  will  not 
hereafter  be  what  it  has  been'." 
And  he  made  another  speech: 


214  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

"It  was  after  the  creation  of  the  earth,  and 
there  was  a  mud  vahahkkee,  and  inside  of  it  lay 
a  piece  of  wood  burning  at  one  end,  and  by  it 
stood  a  cane-tube  pipe,  smoking,  and  we  inhaled 
the  smoke,  and  then  we  saw  things  clearer  and 
talked  about  them. 

In  the  West  there  was  a  Black  Mocking 
Bird,  and  from  him  I  asked  power,  and  he  brought 
the  news  and  spread  it  over  all  the  earth,  and 
to  every  hill  and  every  mountain  and  every 
tree,  that  the  earth  would  stand  still,  but  it  did 
not,  it  still  moved. 

(And  you,  Black  Mocking  Bird,  take  back  your 
Black  Winds,  and  your  Black  Clouds,  and  stay 
where  you  are,  and  your  relatives  may  sometimes 
come  to  you  for  power.) 

And  in  the  South  there  was  a  Blue  Mocking 
Bird,  and  I  asked  it  for  power,  and  it  stretched 
the  news  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  hill 
and  every  mountain,  and  to  every  tree,  that  the 
earth  stood  still,  but  it  did  not,  it  still  moved. 

In  the  East  was  a  Mocking  Bird  of  Light,  and 
I  asked  it  for  power,  and  it  stretched  the  news 
over  all  the  earth,  and  to  every  hill,  mountain 
and  tree,  that  the  earth  stood  still,  but  it  still 
moved.  . 

And  Above  there  was  darkness,  where  lived 
the  Feather  Nested  Doctor,  who  is  famous  for 
his  power,  and  I  asked  him  for  power,  and  he 
spread  the  news,  as  the  others  had  done*  but 
the  earth  still  moved. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    215 

And  in  the  North  lived  a  Yellow  Spider,  and 
I  asked  him  for  power,  and  he  stretched  his 
news,  and  made  his  web,  and  tied  the  earth 
up  with  it,  and  made  a  fringe  like  a  blanket 
fringe  at  each  corner,  and  laid  his  arrows  over  it. 

The  fringe  at  the  West  corner  he  made  black, 
and  covered  it  with  the  Black  Vahahkkee  to  hold 
it  down;  and  he  put  the  blue  fringe  at  the 
South  corner,  and  over  it  the  Blue  Vahahkkee  to 
hold  it  down,  and  he  put  the  black  arrows  over 
the  Black  Vahahkee.  and  the  blue  arrows  over 
the  Blue  Vahahkee. 

And  in  the  East  he  put  the  Vahahkee  of  Light 
over  the  fringe  and  the  arrows  of  light  over  it. 

And  after  all  this  was  done  the  earth  stood  still. 

And  after  this  is  done  you  are  carried  away 
like  a  child,  and  are  set  down  facing  the  East,  and 
your  heart  comes  out  towards  it,  and  can  be  seen 
going  up  and  down  till  it  reaches  it. 

And  over  the  land  your  seed  shall  spring  up 
and  grow,  and  have  good  stalks  and  many  flowers, 
and  have  good  wide  leaves  and  heads  of  good 
seeds. 

And  after  the  seed  is  ripe  they  will  take  it  and 
put  it  away  and  grind  it  with  sunbeams,  and  the 
boys  and  girls  shall  eat  and  be  happy,  and  all 
the  old  men  and  women  shall  eat  it  and  lengthen 
their  lives." 


216  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  NAHVAHCHOO 

The  story  of  Nahvahchoo  was  celebrated  till  lately 
among  the  Pimas  by  dancing  games,  resembling  those 
described  in  this  story,  the  players  wearing  masks  and 
gourds,  and  rattling  notched  sticks,  one  of  them  imper 
sonating  Nahvahchoo  himself. 

In  the  reference  to  the  earth's  moving,  in  one  of  the 
speeches,  one  might  suspect  a  glimpse  of  true  astronom 
ical  knowledge,  but  this  is  likely  only  a  poetic  figure. 

The  "everlasting  corn  will"  reminds  a  little  of  the  old 
folk-lore  tale  of  the  everlasting  salt  mill  whose  continu 
ous  grinding  makes  the  ocean  salt. 


THE  STORY  OF  CORN  AND  TOBACCO* 


HERE  was  a  powerful  mahkai  who  had 
a  daughter,  who,  tho  old  enuf,  was 
unmarried,  and  who  grew  tired  of  her 
single  life  and  asked  her  father  to  bury 
her,  saying,  we  will  see  then  if  the  men 
will  care  for  me. 
And  from  her  grave  grew  the  plant  tobacco, 
and  her  father  took  it  and  smoked  it  and  when 
the  people  who  were  gathered  together  smelled 
it  they  wondered  what  it  was,  and  sent  Toehahvs 
to  find  out. 

But,  altho  the  tobacco  still  grew,  the  woman 
came  to  life  again  and  came  out  of  her  grave 
back  to  her  home. 

And  one  day  she  played  gainskoot  with  Corn, 
and  Corn  beat  her,  and  won  all  she  bad.  But 
she  gave  some  little  things  she  did  not  care  for 
to  Corn,  and  the  rest  of  her  debt  she  did  not 
pay,  and  they  quarreled. 

She  told  Corn  to  go  away,  saying;  "Nobody 
cares  for  you,  now,  but  they  care  a  great  deal 
for  me,  and  the  doctors  use  me  to  make  rain, 
and  when  they  have  moistened  the  ground  is  the 
only  time  you  can  come  out." 

And  the  Corn  said:  "You  don't  know  how  much 
the  people  like  me;  the  old  as  well  as  the  young 
eat  me,  and  I  don't  think  there  is  a  person  that 

*Read  before  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Philadel 
phia,  May  1  1,  1904. 


218  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

does  not  like  me."  And  Corn  told  Tobacco  to 
go  away  herself. 

There  were  people  there  who  heard  them 
quarreling,  and  tho  Tobacco  staid  on,  whenever 
she  would  be  in  a  house  and  hear  people  laugh 
ing  she  would  think  they  were  laughing  at  her. 
And  she  became  very  sad,  and  one  day  sank 
down  in  her  house  and  went  westward  and  came 
to  a  house  there. 

And  the  person  who  lived  there  told  her  where 
to  sleep,  saying,  "Many  people  stop  here,  and 
that  is  where  they  sleep." 

But  she  said:  "I  am  travelling,  and  no  one 
knows  where  I  am,  and  if  any  one  follows  me, 
and  comes  here,  you  tell  them  that  you  saw  me, 
that  I  left  very  early  in  the  morning  and  you 
do  not  know  which  way  I  went."  And  she  told 
him  that  she  did  not  know  herself  which  way 
she  would  go,  and  at  night,  when  she  went  to 
bed,  she  brought  a  strong  wind,  and  when  she 
wanted  to  leave  she  sank  down  and  went  west 
ward,  and  the  wind  blew  away  all  her  tracks. 

And  she  came  to  the  Mohaves  and  lived  there 
in  a  high  mountain,  Cheof  Toe-ahk,  or  tall  moun 
tain,  which  has  a  cliff  very  hard  to  climb,  but 
Tobacco  stood  up  there. 

And  after  Tobacco  had  gone,  Corn  remained, 
but  when  corn-planting  time  came  none  was  plant 
ed,  because  there  was  no  rain.  And  so  it  went 
on — all  summer,  and  people  began  to  say:  "It 
is  so,  when  Tobacco  was  here,  we  had  plenty  of 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    219 

rain,  and  now  we  have  not  any,  and  she  must 
have  had  wonderful  power." 

And  the  people  scolded 'Corn  for  sending  To 
bacco  away,  and  told  him  to  go  away  himself, 
and  then  they  sent  for  Tobacco  to  come  back, 
that  they  might  have  rain  again. 

And  Corn  left,  going  toward  the  east,  singing 
all  the  way,  taking  Pumpkin  with  him,  who  was 
singing  too,  saying  they  were  going  where  there 
was  plenty  of  moisture. 

And  th£  next  year  there  was  no  water,  and  a 
powerful  doctor,  Gee-hee-sop,  took  the  Doctor's 
Stone  of  Light,  and  the  Doctor's  Square  Stone, 
and  some  soft  feathers,  and  eagle's-tail  feathers, 
and  went  to  where  Tobacco  lived,  asking  her  to 
come  back,  saying  "We  are  all  suffering  for  water, 
and  we  know  you  have  power  to  make  it  rain, 
And  every  seed  buried  in  the  ground  is  begging 
for  water,  and  likely  to  be  burned  up,  and  every 
tree  is  suffering,  and  I  want  you  to  come." 

Then  Tobacco  said:  "What  has  become  of  Corn? 
He  is  still  with  you,  and  corn  is  what  you  ought 
to  eat,  and  everybody  likes  it,  but  nobody  cares 
for  me,  except  perhaps  some  old  man  who  likes 
to  smoke  me,  and  I  do  not  want  to  go  back,  and 
I  am  not  going!" 

But  Geeheesop  said:  "Corn  is  not  there  now, 
he  has  gone  away,  and  we  do  not  know  where 
he  is."  And  again  he  asked  Tobacco  to  come 
back  but  she  refused,  but  gave  him  four  balls 
of  tobacco  seed  and  said  to  him:  "Take  these 


220  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

home  with  you,  and  take  the  dirt  of  the  tobacco- 
worm,  and  roll  it  up,  and  put  it  in  a  cane- 
tube  and  smoke  it  all  around,  and  you  will  have 
rain,  and  then  plant  the  seed,  and  in  four  days 
it  will  come  up;  and  when  you  get  the  leaves, 
smoke  them,  and  call  on  the  winds,  and  you  will 
have  clouds  and  plenty  of  rain." 

So  Geeheesop  went  home  with  the  seed  balls, 
and  tobacco-worm  dirt,  and  did  as  Tobacco  had 
told  him;  and  the  smoking  of  the  dirt  brought 
rain,  and  the  seeds  were  planted  in  a  secret  place, 
and  in  four  days  came  up,  and  grew  for  a  while, 
but  finally  were  about  to  die  for  want  of  rain. 

Then  Geeeesop  got  some  of  the  leaves  and 
smoked  them,  and  the  wind  blew,  and  rain  came, 
and  the  plants  revived  and  grew  till  they  were 
ripe. 

When  the  tobacco  was  ripe  Geeheesop  gath 
ered  a  lot  of  the  leaves  and  filled  with  them  one 
of  the  gourd-like  nests  which  the  woodpecker,  koh- 
daht,  makes  in  the  har-san,  or  giant-cactus,  and 
then  took  a  few  of  these  and  put  them  in  a  cane- 
tube  pipe,  or  watch-kee^  and  went  to  where  the 
people  gathered  in  the  evening. 

And  the  doctor  who  was  the  father  of  Tobacco 
said:"What  is  this  I  'smell?  There  is  something 
new  here!" 

And  one  said,  "Perhaps  it  is  some  greens  that 
I  ate  today  that  you  smell,"  and  he  breathed 
toward  him. 

But  the  mahkai  said, "That  is  not  it" 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    221 

And  others  breathed  toward  him,  but  he  could 
not  smell  it. 

Then  Geeheesop  rolled  a  coal  toward  himself, 
and  lit  up  his  pipe,  and  the  doctor  said:  ''This 
is  what  I  smelled!" 

And  Geeheesop,  after  smoking  a  few  whiffs, 
passed  the  pipe  around  to  the  others,  and  all 
smoked  it,  and  when  it  came  back  to  him  he  stuck 
it  in  the  ground. 

And  the  next  night  he  came  with  a  new  pipe 
to  the  place  of  meeting,  but  the  father  of  Tobacco 
said:  "Last  night  I  had  a  smoke,  but  I  did  not 
feel  good  after  it." 

And  all  the  others  said:  "Why  we  smoked  and 
enjoyed  it." 

But  the  man  who  had  eaten  the  greens  kah-tee- 
kum,  the  day  before,  said:  "He  does  not  mean 
that  he  did  not  enjoy  the  smoke,  but  something 
else  troubled  him  after  ir,  and  I  think  it  was  that 
when  we  passed  the  pipe  around  we  did  not  say 
4My  relatives,'  'brother,'  or  'cousin,'  or  what 
ever  it  was,  but  passed  it  quietly  without  using 
any  names." 

And  Tobacco's  father  said  "Yes,  that  is  what 
I  mean." 

(And  from  that  time  on  all  the  Pimas  smoked 
that  way  when  they  came  together,  using  a  cane- 
tube  pipe,  or  making  a  long  cigarette  of  corn- 
husk  and  tobacco,  and  passing  it  around  among 
relatives.) 

So  Geeheesop  lit  his  pipe  and  passed  it  around 


222  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

in  the  way  to  satisfy  the  doctor. 

And  the  people  saved  the  seeds  of  that  tobacco, 
and  to  day  it  is  all  over  the  land. 

And  the  Corn  and  the  Pumpkin  had  gone  east, 
and  for  many  years  they  lived  there,  and  the 
people  they  had  left  had  no  corn,  and  no  pump 
kins;  but  after  a  while  they  returned  of  them 
selves,  and  came  first  to  the  mountain  TaTitkum, 
and  lived  there  a  while,  and  then  crossed  the 
river  and  lived  near  Blackwater,  at  the  place 
called  Toeahk-Comalk,  or  White  Thin  Moun 
tain,  and  from  there  went  and  lived  awhile  at 
Gahkotekih  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  Superstition 
Mountain. 

While  they  lived  at  Gahkotekih  there  was  a 
woman  living  near  there  at  a  place  called  kawt- 
kee  oy-ee-duck  who,  with  her  younger  brother, 
went  to  Gahkotekih  to  gather  and  roast  the  white 
cactus,  and  while  they  were  doing  this  Corn  saw 
them  from  the  mountain  and  came  down. 

And  the  boy  saw  him  and  said:  ill  think  that  it 
my  uncle  coming,"  but  his  sister  said,"  It  can 
not  be,  for  he  is  far  away.  If  he  were  here  the 
people  would  not  be  starving  as  now." 

But  the  boy  was  right,  it  was  his  uncle,  and 
Corn  came  to  them  and  staid  with  them  while 
the  cactus  was  baking.  And  after  awhile,  as  he 
sat  aside,  he  would  shoot  an  arrow  up  in  the  air, 
and  it  would  fall  whirling  where  the  cooking  was, 
and  he  would  go  and  pick  it  up. 

Finally  he  said   to    the  woman:  "Would    you 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    223 

not  better  uncover  the  corn  and  see  if  it  is  cooked 
yet?"  And  she  said:  "It  is  not  corn,  it  is  cactus." 

Again,  after  a  while,  he  said :  "Would  you 
not  better  uncover  the  pumpkin  and  see  if  it  is 
done?"  And  she  replied:  "It  is  not  pumpkin, 
we  are  baking,  it  is  cactus."  But  finally  he  said 
"Well,  uncover  it  anyway,"  and  she  uncovered 
it,  and  there  were  corn  and  pumpkin  there,  to 
gether,  all  nicely  mixed  and  cooked,  and  she  sat 
staring  at  it,  and  he  told  her  to  uncover  it  rriore, 
and  she  did  so  and  ate  some  of  it. 

And  then  he  asked  about  the  Tobacco  woman, 
if  she  were  married  yet,  and  she  said,  "No,  she 
is  not  married,  but  she  is  back  with  us  again, 
now." 

Then  he  asked  her  to  send  the  little  boy  ahead 
and  tell  the  people  that  Corn  was  coming  to  live 
with  them  again.  But  first  the  little  boy  was  to 
go  to  the  doctor  who  was  the  father  of  Tobacco, 
and  see  if  he  and  his  daughter  wanted  Corn  to 
return.  If  they  did  he  would  come,  and  if  they 
did  not  he  would  stay  away.  And  he  wanted 
the  boy  to  come  right  back  and  tell  what  answer 
he  got. 

So  the  little  boy  went,  and  took  some  corn 
with  him  to  the  doctor,  and  said:  "Corn  sent 
me,  and  he  wants  your  daughter,  and  he  wants 
to  know  if  you  want  him.  If  you  do  he  will 
return,  but  if  you  do  not  he  will  turn  back  again. 
And  he  wants  me  to  bring  him  word  what  you 
say." 


224  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  the  mahkai  said  "I  have  nothing  to  say 
against  him.  I  guess  he  knows  the  people  want 
corn.  Go  and  tell  him  to  come." 

And  Corn  said:  "Go  back  to  the  doctor  and  tell 
him  to  make  a  little  kee,  as  quick  as  he  can,  and 
to  get  the  people  to  help  him,  and  to  cover  it 
with  mats  instead  of  bushes,  and  to  let  Tobacco 
go  there  and  stay  there  till  I  come. 

And  tell  all  the  people  to  sweep  their  houses, 
and  around  their  houses,  and  if  anything  in  their 
houses  is  broken,  such  as  pots,  vahs-shroms,  to 
turn  them  right  side  up.  For  I  am  coming  back 
openly;  there  will  be  no  secret  about  it.1' 

So  the  little  boy  went  back  and  told  the  doc 
tor  all  that  Corn  had  told  him  to  say,  and  the 
doctor  and  the  people  built  the  kee,  and  Tobac 
co  went  there,  and  the  people  swept  their  houses 
and  around  them  as  they  were  told. 

And  before  sunset  the  woman  came  home  with 
the  corn  and  pumpkins  she  had  cooked  at  the 
mountain,  but  Corn  staid  out  till  it  was  evening. 

And  when  evening  came  there  was  a  black 
cloud  where  Corn  stood,  and  soon  it  began  to 
rain  corn,  and  every  little  while  a  big  pumpkin 
would  come  down,  bump.  And  it  rained  corn 
and  pumpkins  all  night,  while  Corn  and  his  bric'e 
were  in  their  kee,  and  in  the  morning  the  people 
went  out  and  gathered  up  the  corn  from  the  swept 
place  around  their  houses. 

And  so  Corn  and  Pumpkin  came  back  again. 

The  people  gathered    up   all  the    corn    around 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    225 

their  houses,  and  all  their  vessels,  even  their 
broken  ones,  which  they  had  turned  up,  were 
full,  and  their  houses  were  soon  packed  full  of 
corn  and  pumpkins. 

So  Corn  lived  there  with  his  wife,  and  after  a 
while  Tobacco  had  a  baby,  and  it  was  a  little 
crooked-necked  pumpkin,  such  as  the  Pimas  call 
a  dog-pumpkin. 

And  when  the  child  had  grown  a  little,  one 
day  its  father  and  mother  went  out  to  work  in 
the  garden,  and  they  put  the  little  pumpkin  baby 
behind  a  mat  leaning  against  the  wall.  And  some 
children,  coming  in,  found  it  there,  and  began 
to  play  with  it  for  a  doll,  carrying  it  on  their 
backs  as  they  do  their  dolls.  And  -finally  they 
dropped  it  and  broke  its  neck. 

And  when  Corn  came  back  and  found  his  baby 
was  broken  he  was  angry,  and  left  his  wife,  and 
went  east  again,  and  staid  thtre  awhile,  and  then 
bethought  him  of  his  pets,  the  tteckbirds,  which 
he  had  left  behind,  snd  came  back  to  his  wife 
again. 

But  after  awhile  he  again  went  east,  taking  his 
pets  with  him,  scattering  grains  of  corn  so  that 
the  blackbirds  would  follow  him. 

Corn  made  this  speech  while  he  was  in  the 
kee  with  Tobacco: 

In  the  East  there  is  the  Tonedum  Vahahkkee, 
the  Vahahkkeeof  Light,  where  lives  the  great  doc 
tor,  the  king  fisher. 

And   I  came  to  Bives-chool,  the   king  fisher, 


226  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

and  asked  him  for  power,  and  he  heard  me  ask 
ing,  and  flew  up  on  his  kee,  and  looked  toward 
the  West,  and  breathed  the  light  four  times,  and 
flew  and  breathed  again  four  times,  and  so  on- 
flying  four  times  and  breathing  after  each  flight 
four  times,  and  then  he  sat  over  a  place  in  the 
ground  that  was  cut  open. 

And  in  the  West  there  was  a  Bluebird,  and 
when  I  asked  him  for  power  he  flew  up  on  his 
kee,  and  breathed  four  times,  and  then  flew  to 
ward  the  East,  and  he  and  Biveschool  met  at  the 
middle  of  the  earth. 

And  Biveschool  asked  the  Bluebird  to  do  some 
great  thing  to  show  his  power,  and  the  Bluebird 
took  the  blue  grains  of  corn  from  his  breast  and 
then  planted  them,  and  they  grew  up  into  beau 
tiful  tall  corn,  so  tall  its  tops  touched  the  sky 
and  its  leaves  bowed  over  and  scratched  the 
ground  in  the  wind. 

And  Biveschool  took  white  seeds  from  his 
breast,  and  planted  them,  and  they  came  up,  and 
were  beautiful  to  be  seen,  and  came  to  bear  fruit 
that  lay  one  after  another  on  the  vine — these 
were  pumpkins. 

And  the  beautiful  boys  ran  around  among  these 
plants,  and  learned  to  shout  and  learned  to  whistle, 
and  the  beautiful  girls  ran  around  among  these 
plants  and  learned  to  whistle. 

And  the  relatives  heard  of  these  good  years, 
and  the  plenty  to  eat,  and  there  came  a  relative 
leading  her  child  by  the  hand,  who  said:  "We 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    227 

will  go  right  on,  for  our  relatives  must  have 
plenty  to  eat,  and  we  shall  not  always  suffer 
with  hunger. 

So  these  came,  but  did  not  eat  it  all,  but  re 
turned. 

So  my  relatives,  think  of  this,  that  we  shall 
not  suffer  with  hunger  always." 

And  Corn  made  another  speech  at  that  time 
to  Tobacco's  father: 

"Doctor!  Doctor!  have  you  seen  that  this  earth 
that  you  have  made  is  burning!  The  mountains 
are  crumbling,  and  all  kinds  of  trees  are  burn 
ing  down. 

And  the  people  over  the  land  which  you  have 
made  run  around,  and  have  forgotten  how  to 
shout,  and  have  forgotten  how  to  walk,  since  the 
ground  is  so  hot  and  burning. 

And  the  birds  which  you  have  made  have  for 
gotten  how  to  fly,  and  have  forgotten  how  to  sing. 

And  when  you  found  this  out  you  held  up  the 
long  pinion  feathers,  mah-cheev-a-duck,  toward 
the  East,  and  there  came  the  long  clouds  one  after 
the  other. 

And  there  in  those  clouds  there  were  low  thun- 
derings,  and  they  spread  over  the  earth,  and 
watered  all  the  plants,  and  the  roots  of  all  the 
trees;  and  everything  was  different  from  what  it 
had  been. 

Every  low  place  and  every  valley  was 
crooked,  but  the  force  of  the  waters  strightened 
them  out,  and  there  was  driftwood  on  all  the 


228  Aw-aw-tam    Indian  Nights 

shores:  and  after  it  was  over  every  low  place 
and  every  valley  had  foam  in  its  mouth. 

And  in  the  mouth  stood  the  Doctor,  and  took 
the  grains  from  his  breast,  and  planted  them,  and 
the  corn  grew  and  was  beautiful.  And  he  went 
on  further,  to  another  low  valley,  and  planted 
other  seeds,  and  the  pumpkin  grew  and  was  beau 
tiful. 

And  its  vine  to  the  West  was  black  and  zig 
zag  in  form,  and  to  the  South  was  blue  and  zig 
zag  in  form,  and  to  the  East  was  white  and  zig 
zag  in  form,  and  to  the  North  was  yellow  and 
zigzag  in  form. 

So  everything  came  up,  and  there  was  plenty 
to  eat,  and  the  people  gathered  it  up,  and  the 
young  boys  and  girls  ate  and  were  hsppy,  and 
the  old  men  and  the  old  women  ate  and  length 
ened  even  their  few  days. 

So  think  of  this,  my  relatives,  and  know  that 
we  are  net  to  suffer  with  hunger  always. " 

And  the  Dog-Pumpkin  Baby  lay  there  broken, 
after  Corn  went  away,  but  after  awhile  sank 
down  and  went  to  Gahkotekih,  and  grew  up  there, 
and  became  the  Harsan  or  Giant  Cactus. 

And  the  mother  and  grandfather  conld  not  find 
the  Dog-Pumpkin  Baby,  and  called  the  people 
together,  and  Toehahvs  was  asked  to  find  it,  and 
he  smelled  around  where  it  had  been,  and  went 
around  in  circles. 

And  he  came  to  where  the  Giant  Cactus  was 
and  thought  it  was  the  baby,  but  was  not  sure, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    229 

and  so  came  back,  and  told  them  he  could  not 
find  it. 

And  they  wanted  Nooee  to  go,  and  Toehahvs 
said  to  Nooee:  "I  did  see  something,  but  I  was 
not  quite  sure,  but  I  want  you  to  examine  that 
Giant  Cactus." 

So  Nooee  flew  around  and  around  and  exam 
ined  the  Giant  Cactus  and  came  back,  and  when 
the  people  questioned  him  said:  "I  have  found 
it  and  it  is  already  full-grown,  and  I  tell  you  I 
think  something  good  will  happen  to  us  because 
of  it." 

And  when  the  Cactus  had  fruit  the  people 
gathered  it,  and  made  tis-win^  and  took  the  seeds 
and  spread  them  out  in  the  sun. 

And  the  Badger  stole  these  seeds,  and  when 
the  people  knew  it  they  sent  Toehahvs  after  the 
theif. 

And  Toehahvs  went  and  saw  Badger  ahead  of 
him  in  the  road,  and  saw  him  go  out  and  around 
and  come  into  the  road  again  and  come  toward 
him. 

And  when  they  met,  Toehahvs  asked  him  what 
he  had  in  his  hand.  And  Badger  said  "I  have 
something,  but  I'm  not  going  to  show  you!" 

Then  Toehahvs  said:  "If  you'll  only  just  open 
your  hand,  so  I  can  see,  I'll  be  satisfied." 

And  Badger  opened  his  hand,  and  Toehahvs 
hit  it  a  slap  from  below,  and  knocked  the  seeds 
all  around,  and  that  is  why  the  giant  cactus  is 
now  so  scattered. 


230  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  CORN  AND  TOBACCO 

In  the  Story  of  Corn  and  Tobacco  we  touch  the  sup 
erstitions  about  rain,  the  most  desired  thing  in  the  desert. 
The  mahkais  used  tobacco  in  their  incantations,  both  for 
curing  sickness  and  for  making  rain.  It  would  appear  that 
the  Piman  mind  confused  clouds  of  smoke  and  clouds  of 
vapor,  and  because  tobacco  made  clouds  it  was  probably 
supposed  to  be  potent  in  begetting  rain.  The  Pimas  told 
me  that  the  Doctor's  Square  Stone  was  used  in  the  incan 
tations  for  rain,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  a  con 
nection  in  Piman  thought  between  feathers  and  clouds, 
and  therefore  between  feathers  and  rain,  and  it  will  be 
noticed  thut  when  Geeheesop  went  to  get  Tobacco's 
help  in  making  rain  he  took  feathers  and  both  kinds 
of  Doctor-stone. 

This  story  seems  to  profess  to  give  the  origin  of  tob- 
tcco,  giant  cactus  and  of  tiswin. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CHILDREN  OF  CLOUD 


v was  a  woman  who  lived    in  the 

$  mountains,  who  was  very  beautiful, 
and  had  many  suitors,  but  she  never 
married  anyone. 

And  one  day  she  was  making  mats  of 
cane;    and    she   fell    asleep  and  a  rain 
came  and  a  drop  fell  on  her  navel. 

And  she  had  twin  babies,  and  all  the  men 
claimed  them,  but  when  the  babies  were  old  enuf 
to  crawl  she  told  all  the  claimants  to  get  in  a 
circle,  and  she  would  put  the  babies  in  the  mid 
dle,  and  if  they  crawled  up  to  any  man  he  would 
be  the  father. 

But  the  babies  climbed  upon  nobody,  And 
she  never  married. 

And  when  these  twin  boys  were  old  enuf  their 
mother  showed  them  a  cloud  in  the  east,  and 
said:  "That  is  your  father,  and  his  name  is 
Cloud,  and  the  Wind  is  your  uncle,  your  father's 
older  brother." 

But  the  children  paid  little  attention,  but  when 
they  got  older  they  asked  their  mother  if  they 
could  go  and  see  their  father.  And  their  mother 
let  them  go. 

And  they  went,  and  came  to  a  house,  and  the 

man  who    lived    there  asked    them  where    they 

were  going,  and  they  said  they  were  looking  for 

their  father,  whose  name  was  Cloud. 

And  the  man  pointed  to  the  next  house,  and 


232  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

said:  "That  man,  there,  is  your  father.'' 

And  they  went  to  that  man,  but  he  said:  "It 
is  not  so.  He  is  your  father.  He  is  Cloud." 
and  sent  them  back  again. 

But  the  first  man  sent  them  back  once  more 
to  the  second,  who  was  really  Cloud. 

And  Cloud  said,  that  time;  "I  wonder  if  it  is 
so  that  you  are  my  children!" 

And  the  boys  said:  "That  is  what  they  say." 

And  Cloud  said:  "I  want  you  to  do  something 
to  prove  it." 

Then  the  oldest  boy  thundered  loud  and  light 
ened,  and  the  other  lightened  a  little,  and  Cloud 
said,  "It  is  true,  you  are  my  children!" 

And  before  night  Cloud  fed  them,  and  then 
went  into  his  kee  and  shut  it  up  and  left  them 
outside  all  night.  And  it  rained  and  snowed  all 
night,  but  they  staid  outside. 

And  in  the  morning  Cloud  came  out,  and  said: 
"It  is  really  so,  that  you  are  my  children." 

And  the  next  night  he  took  them  to  a  pond, 
where  there  was  ice,  and  left  them  there  all 
night.  And  the  next  day,  when  he  came  there 
and  found  they  had  staid  in  the  water  all  night 
he  said:  "It  is  really  so— you  are  my  children." 

So  Cloud  aknowedged  them  for  his  children 
and  took  them  into  his  kee.  And  after  a  while 
the  boys  wanted  to  go  back  to  their  mother,  and 
Cloud  said:  "You  may  go,  but  you  must  not 
speak  to  anybody  on  the  way.  And  I  will  be 
with  you  on  the  journey." 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    233 

So  the  boys  started,  and  cloud  was  over  them, 
in  the  sky,  shadowing  them. 

And  after  a  while  they  saw  a  man  coming, 
and  the  younger  boy  said:  "We  must  ask  him 
how  our  mother  is." 

But  the  older  brother  said:  "Don't  you  remem 
ber  that  our  father  told  us  not  to  speak  to  anyone?" 

The  younger  said:  "Yes,  I  remember,  but 
it  would  not  be  right  not  ask  how  our  mother  is." 

So  when  the  man  came  the  boy  asked:  "How  is 
everybody  at  home,  and  how  is  the  old  woman, 
our  mother?" 

And  then  the  cloud  above  them  lightened  and 
thundered,  and  they  were  both  turned  into  cen 
tury  plants. 


234  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


NOTES  ON  THE  STORY  OF  CLOUD 

In  Emory's  report,  before  alluded  to,  also  in  Captain 
Johnston's,  we  find  variants  of  The  Story  of  the  Chil 
dren  of  Cloud.  Thristy  Hawk,  the  Maricopa,  told  Emory 
"that  in  bygone  days  a  woman  of  surpassing  beauty  re 
sided  in  a  green  spot  in  the  mountains,  near  where  we 
were  encamped.  All  the  men  admired  and  paid  court  to 
her.  She  received  the  tributes  of  their  devotion,  grain, 
skins,  etc.,  but  gave  no  love  or  other  favor  in  return.  Her 
virtue  and  her  determination  to  remain  unmarried  were 
equally  firm.  There  came  a  drought  which  threatened  the 
world  with  famine.  In  their  distress,  people  applied  to  her, 
and  she  gave  corn  from  her  stock,  and  the  supply  seemed 
endless.  .  .  .  One  day  as  she  was  lying  asleep  with  her 
body  exposed,  a  drop  of  rain  fell  on  her  stomach,  which 
produced  conception.  A  son  was  the  issue,  who  was  the 
founder  of  a  new  race  which  built  all  these  houses"  (ruins, 
vahahkkees). 

Johnston  has  it:  "The  general  asked  a  Pima  who  made 
the  house  I  had  seen.  'It  is  the  Caza  de  Montezuma', 
said  he,  'it  was  built  by  the  son  of  the  most  beautiful 
woman,  who  once  dwelt  in  yon  mountain;  she  was  fair, 
and  all  the  handsome  men  came  to  court  her,  but  in  vain; 
when  they  came,  they  paid  tribute,  and  out  of  this  small 
store  she  fed  all  the  people  in  time  of  distress,  and  it  did 
not  diminish;  at  last,  as  she  lay  asleep,  a  drop  of  rain  fell 
upon  her  navel,  and  she  became  pregnant,  «nd  brought 
forth  a  boy,  who  was  the  builder  of  all  these  houses." 

The  seeneeyawkum  gives  her  twins  but  knew  nothing  of 
any  story  of  their  children  or  of  these  buildings,  the  vah 
ahkkees. 


THE  STORY  OF  TCHEUNASSAT  SEEVEN 


Seeven  wanted  to  gam 
ble  with  Tcheunassat  Seeven,  who  lived 
at  Kawtkee  Oyyeeduck,  and  sent  a  man 
with  an  invitation  to  come  and  play 
against  him,  and  bring  all  his  wives. 

And  Tcheunassat  Seeven  said:  "I  will 
go,  for  my  wives  are  used  to  travelling,  and  we 
will  take  food,  and  will  camp  on  the  road,  and 
day  after  tomorrow,  about  evening,  we  will  be 
there." 

So  .the  messenger  went  back  with  this  word, 
and  in  the  morning  Tcheunassat  Seeven  got  his 
lunch  ready,  and  he  and  his  wives  started;  and 
the  first  night  camped  at  Odchee,  and  the  next 
day  came  to  the  little  mountain,  near  Blackwater, 
called  Sahn-a-mik,  and  they  crossed  Ak-kee- 
mull,  The  River,  the  Gila,  there,  and  Tcheunassat 
Seeven  told  his  wives  to  wash  their  hair  and 
clean  themselves  there,  and  then  he  told  them 
to  go  ahead  to  Stcheuadack  Seeven  while  he  took 
his  bath.  And  while  he  bathed  they  went  on 
and  came  to  Stcheuadack  Seeven's  house,  where 
he  was  singing  and  his  wives  dancing. 

Then  the  wives  of  Tcheunassat  Seeven  did 
not  ask  for  invitation,  but  went  right  in  and 
joined  the  dance,  and  went  to  Stcheuadack  See 
ven  and  took  hold  of  his  hand  in  the  dance, 
pushing  each  other  away  to  get  it. 


236  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

And  Stcheuadack  Seeven .  thought  from  this 
that  he  would  get  all  of  Tcheunassat  Seeven's 
wives  away  from  him. 

Tcheunassat  Seeven,  after  his  bath,  cut  a  piece 
of  oapot  wood  and  sharpened  it,  and  split  the 
other  end  into  four  pieces,  and  bent  them  over 
and  tied  the  ends  of  crow's  feathers  to  them, 
and  stuck  it  in  his  hair,  and  dipped  his  finger 
in  white  paint  and  made  one  little  spot  over  each 
eye,  which  was  all  the  paint  he  used,  and  then 
he  went  and  watched  his  wives  dancing  and  tak 
ing  Stcheuadack  Seeven's  hand. 

And  Stcheuadack  Seeven  asked  them  if  that 
was  their  husband,  and  they  said:  "Yes,  he  is 
our  husband.  He  is  not  very  good-looking,  but 
we  care  so  much  for  him." 

Tcheunassat  Seeven  watched  the  dancing 
awhile  and  then  stepped  back  a  little  and  took 
out  his  rattle  and  began  to  sing.  And  at  once 
everybody  crowded  around  him,  and  all  his 
wives  came  back  to  him,  and  finally  all  Stcheu 
adack  Seeven's  wives  came  and  contended  for 
his  hand,  as  his  wives  had  been  doing  with  Stcheu 
adack  Seeven. 

And  this  went  on  into  the  night,  all  dancing 
and  having  a  good  time,  except  Stcheuadack  See 
ven,  who  walked  around  looking  at  his  wives 
dancing. 

And  finally  he  sent  a  message  to  the  most 
beautiful  of  his  wives  (who  had  a  beautiful 
daughter)  and  told  him  to  tell  her:  "I  am  sleepy, 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    237 

and  I  want  you  home  now,  and  I  want  all  my 
wives  to  go  into  the  house." 

And  she  said:  "I  will  come.  I  will  tell  my 
daughter,  who  is  over  there,  and  then  we  will 
come  home." 

But  she  did  not  tell  her  daughter,  and  did 
not  come  home,  and  Stcheuadack  Seeven  waited 
awhile,  and  then  found  his  messenger  and  asked 
him:  "Did  you  tell  her?" 

And  the  messenger  said:  "I  did." 

And  he  said:  "Tell  her  again  that  I  am  wait- 
iug  outside  here,  and  I  want  her  to  come  to  me 
and  we  will  go  home." 

Then  the  messenger  told  the  woman  again, 
but  she  did  not  come,  and  Stcheuadack  Seeven 
wandered  around  outside  till  morning. 

And  near  morning  Tcheunassat  Seeven  sang 
a  beautifui  song,  and  began  to  move  toward  his 
own  home,  dancing  all  the  way,  and  all  the 
women  going  before  him. 

And  he  did  this  till  morning,  and  then  stopped, 
and  went  home,  taking  all  his  own  wives  and 
all  of  Stchtuadack  Seeven's  wives  with  him. 

And  Stcheuadack  Seeven  went  home,  when  he 
saw  this,  and  took  his  beautiful  cloak  all  covered 
with  live  butterflies  and  humming-birds,  and  lay 
down,  covering  himself  with  it. 

But  four  days  after,  Stcheuadack  Seeven  told 
the  messenger  to  take  this  beautiful  cloak  to 
Tcheuassat  Seeven,  and  ask  him  to  send  back 
that  beautiful  wife  and  her  daughter,  and  to  keep 


238  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 

the  rest  of  the  wives;  and  to  keep  the  cloak  and 
use  that  to  marry  more  wives. 

But  Tcheunassst  Seeven  said  to  the  messen 
ger:  'Tell  him  I  do  not  want  his  cloak.  I  have 
one  just  like  it,  and  I  have  all  I  want,  and  I 
will  not  send  back  any  of  his  wives.  It  was  his 
wish  that  we  should  gamble,  and  if  he  had  been 
the  better  singer  and  had  won  my  wives  I  would 
not  have  asked  for  any  of  them  back." 

And  now  Tcheunassat  Seeven  appeared  as  a 
beautiful  person,  with  long  hair  and  turquoise 
ear-rings,  and  he  said:  "He  need  not  think  I 
always  look  as  I  did  when  I  came  to  his  dance. 
That  was  only  to  fool  him." 

The  beautiful  daughter  of  the  beautiful  wife 
grew  up,  and  Tcheunassat  Seeven  married  her, 
too,  and  she  had  a  baby. 

And  when  Stcheuadack  Seeven  heard  of  it,  he 
said:  "I  am  going  to  punish  him."  And  he 
made  a  black  spider  and  sent  it  thru  the  air. 

And  in  the  evening  when  the  mother  wanted 
to  air  her  baby's  cradle,  she  took  it  out,  and 
then  the  black  spider  got  in  the  baby's  cradle 
and  hid  himself,  and  when  the  baby  was  put 
back  the  spider -bit  it,  and  it  began  to  cry. 

And  its  father  and  mother  tried  to  pacify  it, 
but  could  not,  and  when  they  took  it  out  of  the 
cradle,  there  they  found  the  black  spider. 

And  Tcheunassat  Seeven  sent  word  to  Stchen- 
adack  Seeven  to  come  and  see  his  grand-child, 
which  was  about  to  die,  but  Stcheuadack  Seeven 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas   239 

said  to  the  messenger:  "What  is  the  matter  with 
Tcheunassat  Seeven?    He  is  a  powerful  doctor. 
Tell  him  to  cure  the  child.     I  will  not  come. 
The  bite  of  a   black  spider  is  poisonous,  but  it 
never  kills  anybody,    Tell  him  to  get  some  weeds 
on  Maricopa    Mountain   and  cure  the  child." 
And  he  sent  the  messenger  back  again. 

And  Scheunassat  Seeven  said:  "How  can  I 
get  those  weeds  when  I  do  not  know  which  ones 
are  right  and  there  are  so  many!  I  cannot  go." 

And  he  did  not  go,  and  the  child  died. 


240  Aw-aw-tam      Indian  Nights 


A  SONG  OF  TCHEUNASSAT  SEEVEN 


There  stands  a  dead  vahahkkee 

On  top  of  it  there  runs  back  and  forth  the  Seeven 

And  he  has  a  robe  with  yellow  hand  prints  on  it. 


THE  LARK'S  SONG  ABOUT  HIS  LOST  WIFE* 

My  poor  wife! 

In  the  West  she  seems  to  be  bound  by  the  song 
of  the  Bamboo. 


*This  is  a  Pima  flute-song,  a  record  of  which  I  obtain 
ed  for  my  phonograph  while  in  Arizona.  It  has  no  direct 
connection  with  the  legends;  but  illustrates  the  Story  of 
Tcheunassat  Seeven  a  little,  as  it  is  about  a  woman,  the 
wife  of  an  Indian  named  the  Lark,  who  is  led  away  by 
the  seductive  singing  of  another  Indian  named  the  Bam 
boo;  the  Indians  having  an  idea  that  women  were  most  eas 
ily  seduced  by  music.  The  Pimas,  when  they  speak  Eng 
lish,  calling  the  wild  cane  bamboo. 


The  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Pimas    241 


THE  LEGEND  OF  BLACKWATER 

A  little  off  from  the  road  between  Sacaton,  and  Casa 
Grande  Ruins  there  is,  or  was  in  the  old  days,  a  myster 
ious  pool  of  dark  water,  which  the  Indians  regarded  with 
superstitious  awe. 

They  said  it  was  of  fathomless  depth,  that  it  commun 
icated  with  the  ocean,  and  that  strange,  monstrous  animals 
at  times  appeared  in  it.  There  are  Indians  still  living 
who  declare  they  have  seen  them  with  their  own  eyes. 

I  visited  this  famous  place  once  with  my  interpreter, 
Mr  Wood.  After  galloping  a  while  thru  a  mezquite  forest 
we  suddenly  emerged  upon  its  legendary  shores  Alas, 
for  the  prosaic  quality  of  fact!  It  was  but  a  common 
place  water-hole,  or  spring-pond,  a  few  rods  across,  with 
bogs  and  bulrushes  in  its  center. 

The  unkindness  of  irrigation  ditches,  withdrawing  its 
waters,  revealed  that  like  most  bottomless  pools  of  story 
it  was  very  shallow  indeed. 

It  was  nearly  dry. 

Its  name  of  Blackwater  has  been  given  to  the  nearby 
surounding  district. 

This  was  the  only  trace  of  the  common  Indian  super 
stition  of  water  monsters  I  found  among  the  Plmas. 
Koo-a  Kutch 
The  End 


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